Fujibayashi After Story Consequences
by Matthew Turner
Summary: A bit of a "what if", My personal experiences are very much ingrained into this story, and i hope people can take something useful from it. Turns out it's getting a little racy at a certain point, i will mark that section out when it gets published so that it can easily be skipped if that's not something you like. I've changed a few things I wasn't happy with and fixed a few typos.
1. Chapter 1

Fujibayashi After Story

Consequences

May 10th

"Come on gorgeous, let's go get some lunch." Ryou, blushed bright red at being referred to as 'gorgeous' as much as she finds it a little embarrassing right now, Ryou has some self-esteem issues, and I figured as a good and caring boyfriend I should try and build her up a little.

"Y-y-yes, t-thank you Tomoya-kun." Our brief interaction raised a few eyebrows among the remaining students in the room. Our relationship was well known by now, but some people still seemed to find it odd when we spoke to each other this way.

I battled my way through the melee in the canteen to get us some lunch, it was always a battle ground, but it was worse today because of some sort of cat shaped bread they'd started selling today, as a side effect with the majority of the students going for the new bread, it left more choice than usual. I got myself a cutlet sandwich and fish fillet sandwich for Ryou, it's what she wanted so I was going to get it for her even if it cost me a few extra bruises from trying to get into the counter in time to get one. Lunch in hand we headed for our spot in the stone wall in the courtyard.

"Thank you for getting me my lunch, but you really need to go through all of that just for me." Ryou was looking down at her feet, like I said self-esteem issues.

"What kind of boyfriend would it make me if I didn't try and get you everything you ever want?" Ryou blushed again but smiled and looked up at me.

"T-thank you, you're so good to me."

"You're welcome gorgeous, now eat up or we'll run out of lunch break." She giggled lightly, still blushing. More and more I was noticing how cute she was when she blushed like this.

"Would you like some tea, Tomoya-kun?"

"Yes please, so how's you sandwich?"

"It's really nice thank you, would you like to try some?"

"Yeah, go on, thanks." To my surprise she broke a piece off and brought it towards my mouth, she was bright red, and her hand was shaking quite a bit, but she was trying, bless her. So as a good boyfriend should, I closed my eyes and opened my mouth.

For longer than I expected nothing, and I was about to open my eyes, when I felt something touch my tongue. However, my lips closed around something. My eyes snapped open to reveal Ryou, redder than I'd ever seen her, as we sat there with her finger still in my mouth.

Ryou's eyes bulged in shock as it registered what was going on, she shot to her feet and sprinted off towards the school.

"Crap."

Abandoning my sandwich, I set off in pursuit, but Ryou was remarkably fast on her feet and I lost track of her at the top of the second-floor stairs. I figured she'd have to pass this way again to get back to class so I sat on the windowsill while I waited and enjoyed the cool breeze from the open window.

"TOMOYA!" Kyou rounded the corner a face full of rage.

"Wait! Wait! I can explain!" My plea for mercy was already too late as the Kanji dictionary was already in flight. Seeing it coming I tried to dodge out of the line of fire, but Kyou was too close for me to get out of the way.

I did manage to get my head out of the way, but the heavy book still struck my right shoulder, I felt something break on impact, as momentum span me round and backwards.

I was spun nearly 180 degrees and pitched out of the window, I clutched at the window frame desperately with my left hand. I swung wildly as I dangled from the window with just one hand, the edges of the frame already cutting into my hand, blood trickled down my arm as I fought to pull myself up.

With only one working arm I knew it wasn't going to work, but I tried anyway desperately.

"Onee-chan!" I could hear Ryou's voice inside. "Tomoya!" Ryou's head appeared above me as she reached for my arm.

"Oh God, please help me!" Ryou clutched at my arm, trying to pull me up. But it wasn't enough, my hand was already slipping.

As my grip gave out time slowed and I fell away, watching the horror and desperation on Ryou's face as she reached for me. My back struck a low wall below the window, but there was barely time for it to register before my head struck the ground and I lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2 – Regret

**Chapter 2 – Regret**

Ryou, turned from the window to see Kyou frozen in place.

"What have you done?" Ryou's expression was one of unbridled rage as she turned away from her sister and ran down to help Tomoya.

"Ugh… geeze, my head hurts." I woke up looking at a whiteish ceiling "Where am I?" Ryou's face suddenly appeared in my line of sight, her deep blue eyes were bloodshot and there were bags under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept in a week.

"Tomoya-kun, you're awake!" She pressed a button on the wall by my head, then leaned forward and hugged me. Pain lanced through me as she squeezed me.

"Gahh! Ryou, that really hurts."

"I'm sorry Tomoya-kun, I've been so worried about you."

"Been? Where am I? what the hell happened?"

"You're in the hospital, y-you had a fall. How much do you remember?"

"I don't know it's a bit fuzzy, I remember walking to school this morning but that's it." Ryou's lip trembled and tears began running down her cheeks. "What? What's wrong?"

"T-Tomoya-kun, that was ten days ago."

"TEN DAYS!"

"Please try to stay calm, you need to keep still. Please it's important that you don't try to move."

"Try not to move? Why not? Why have I got this thing round my neck?" Ryou simply broke down at my questions, she held her head in her hands and sobbed. "That bad huh?"

A moment later a nurse walked into the room.

"Ah, awake are we, good." The nurse walked over to Ryou and placed her arm around her. "Come on Ryou-chan, you've got him back now, it'll be okay." After Ryou had calmed down a bit the nurse gave her a tissue and looked over to me. "I'll go and tell the doctor that you're awake. Try to be gentle with her, she's had it rough."

"Yeah… sure." The nurse placed her hand on Ryou's shoulder and smiled sympathetically before she left. "Ryou, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, no it's not your fault, it's just I haven't been sleeping very well, and I've been so worried…" she reached over and placed her hand on mine and gave it gentle squeeze. Despite all of my unanswered questions, it was reassuring.

"Ah, Okazaki-san, you're back with us, you've had us quite concerned." He paused and looked over at Ryou. "Do you want to stay here while I talk to Okazaki-san, or would you rather wait outside?"

"No, thank you, I'm not going to leave him." There was a determination in her eyes that would have even made me back down. The doctor just smiled.

"I thought you'd say that somehow. I expect you have a few questions Okazaki-san."

"You could say that yes, and call me Tomoya, Okazaki-san makes me think you're referring to my dad."

"Hmm, very well. On the subject of your father, do you know how we might be able to contact him? We haven't been able to get hold of him yet. We sent someone to your house, but we got no response."

"Why am I not surprised," I couldn't help but feel bitter, nearly two in a coma and he's still too busy drinking. "You could try the local bars, if he isn't there, he's most likely passed out drunk on the floor."

"Hmm, that being the case we'll have to inform the police, they'll need to talk to you anyway given the circumstances."

"The police? What circumstances?" Ryou's lip began to tremble again. "Never mind that for now, it can wait." A gave Ryou's hand a squeeze.

"Alright then, I'll leave that for another time. Suffice to say you had a fall from a significant height, as you landed your back struck a wall and then your head hit the floor."

"My back… that's why I'm not supposed to move is it?" Ryou nodded, unable to meet my eyes.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, the impact fractured your L3 and L4 vertebrae, by keeping you as still as possible we hope to limit the damage to the spinal cord. We've inserted some pins to stabilize the area."

"Limit the damage… so there already is some damage." It occurred to me that the only areas that hurt were my right shoulder, my left hand and my head.

"I'm afraid so, but we haven't been able to access the damage until you woke up. Your right shoulder was broken by an impact," He glanced at Ryou briefly, who was looking down still unable to look me in the eye. "It appears it was broken some years ago, we have installed an artificial joint, so you should regain most of your range of motion if not all of it. As for your head, you're blessed with a thick skull so the damage was not as bad as should have been. The neurologist will talk to you about that."

"I'll get the range of motion in my shoulder back?"

"Yes, you should. I assume you had some limitations due to the old injury?"

"Yeah, I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder."

"Well that's good at least, can I ask how it was injured in the first place."

"I got into an argument with my dad, and he shoved me into a wall." The doctor frowned at the ever-worsening image of my dad.

"I'm afraid I am ethically bound to report that."

"Do what you've got to do doc, it's not like he's been around much in the last few years." The frown deepened.

"Hmm, let's see what we've got to work with shall we." The doctor pulled a plastic pen like thing from his pocket and dragged it up the sole of my left foot. "Did you feel that?"

"No." He did the same to my right foot. "Still nothing." The poking continued, I didn't feel anything until her reached my right hip and I could still feel that I needed to pee, so that was something. They took me off for a CAT scan. Unfortunately, the results were fairly conclusive, baring a miracle I would never walk again.

So far, I'd been awake for 4 hours and the only time Ryou left my side when I went in for the CAT scan. After the poking and prodding came to a close, I was told that they could remove the neck brace.

"Wow that's a relief, man that thing was uncomfortable." I was finally able to see Ryou properly, she was kind of a mess frankly. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yes, I meant it when I said I wouldn't leave you. I love you, and I don't care if you need a wheelchair." The reality of my situation hit me like a ton of bricks, and I cried like a baby, while Ryou cradled my head and whispered that everything would be okay, and she take care of me.

About three hours later, there was a knock at the door to my room.

"Hello?"

"C-can I come in…"

"Kyou?"

"Don't you think you've done enough!? Get out! GET OUT!" Ryou stood up and screamed at the top of her voice. Kyou recoiled from Ryou's rage, I have to admit I was stunned myself. Tears formed in Kyou's eye's and she ran out of the room.

"Woah, what was that all about?"

"It's… it's all her fault."

"What? What do you mean it's her fault?" Ryou, sat back down, and held my hand in both of hers.

"She threw a dictionary at you, it hit your shoulder and knocked you out of the second-floor window."

"Wow… hey, are you okay? I mean, she's your sister and all, it's got to have been hard on you."

"I'll be okay, _we'll _be okay."

"We meaning, you and her, or you and me?"

"You and me, there is no me and her anymore." I decided it was best to leave that alone for now, I wasn't going to do any good while she was still so angry. "Thank you for thinking of me, even after everything that's happened, you're so good to me."

"Ryou, after everything you've done for me already, how could I not think of you." Ryou raised her head and gave me a weak smile. "Besides, I love you Ryou. I would do anything to help you feel better." Ryou scooted her chair closer to the bed and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you, I love you too."

The following morning, a police officer arrived to take statements.

"Good morning, Okazaki-san it's good to see you awake at last, Good morning Ryou-san, you look a little better rested than last time we met."

"Yes, thank you, I managed to get some sleep last night."

"I haven't managed to get her to go home and sleep or eat something resembling real food yet mind you."

"I don't think you'll get far on that front; she's quite determined that she is staying put. So, the doctors have given me some troubling reports about your father."

"I don't doubt it."

"I'm told he hasn't been in contact with the hospital yet, and I was told that he broke your shoulder a couple of years ago, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is, if it makes any difference it wasn't intentional."

"It's child abuse, regardless of whether he intended to injure you or not, the mere fact that he shoved you hard enough break bones, it's still child abuse, and him not doing anything about you being in a coma, despite letters put through the door and hospital staff trying to get him to answer the door, that's criminal neglect."

"I err, I don't know umm, what will happen to him?"

"He'll do time for sure."

"What happens to me then?"

"Once you get out of hospital, you'll most likely go into foster care. But you'll be here for a while yet so there's no need to worry about that for a while yet."

"Right…"

"Getting back to the present situation, do you remember what happened?"

"No, I only remember up to the morning of the acci… when I fell."

"Interesting that you stopped yourself from saying accident."

"From what I'm told, I'm not sure the term applies… I don't know, it's a lot to process."

"Hmm, yes I'm sure you've got a lot to think about. Have you been given a prognosis yet?"

"I assumed you'd have been told already."

"No, now you're awake and not in imminent danger, doctor patient privilege applies."

"I have been told… I will… I…"

"He will need a wheelchair from now on." Ryou finished the sentence I couldn't.

"For what little it's worth I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me too."

"There is the question of what you want to do regarding Fujibayashi Kyou."

"What I want to do?"

"Yes, if you don't want to press charges, we can't prosecute her unless we decide it was attempted murder. But I doubt that'll happen. I have spoken to her, and she does seem genuinely remorseful, and she has been suspended from school pending our investigation."

"I don't know right now; do I have to decide right now?"

"No, I can give you a few days if you want."

"Yeah, thanks. I don't know if I want to ruin her life just yet." The policeman raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"You're a nicer guy than I think I'd be in your shoes. Your girlfriend here already has my card, so when you have an answer."

"yeah, thanks again." He smiled and left us alone again. "It just keeps getting better and better doesn't it."

"We'll work something out." Ryou gave my hand a squeeze, I was more and more glad she was here for me.

The day after I was finally able to persuade Ryou to go home for a few hours, to get some sleep and at the very least see her parents, I'm sure they'd be worried about her.

She was back first thing in the morning.

"Tomoya-kun? The nurse said you were awake."

"Good morning gorgeous, I'm really glad to see you."

"Good morning, I missed you too." She came over and gave me a brief kiss. "I spoke to my parents last night."

"Good, did you talk about anything in particular?"

"You mostly?"

"Me? What about me?"

"They're willing to foster you when you get out of here."

"What? Really? But they barely know me."

"They know all they need to know about you, they know that I love you and you love me. They also know that despite everything she's done; you didn't immediately want Kyou locked up."

"I have no idea what to say."

"You don't need to say anything just yet. They won't hold it against you if you do decide to prosecute Kyou, okay?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. I don't think I want to prosecute."

"Are you sure? I understand if you do."

"No, I think one life irreparably damaged is enough. I don't want to be responsible for permanently altering her future options."

"Don't be so sure your life won't go anywhere, plenty of people in wheelchairs do very well for themselves."

"Maybe… I've been thinking about how lucky I am to have you too, you've been so supportive already, I just wanted you to know how much it means to me." Ryou leaned forward and kissed me again.

"I love you, and nothing is going to change that."

Ryou rang the police officer that had been on my case to tell him what I'd decided. He needed some paperwork signed and he needed to see me about another matter as well.

"I must admit, I was surprised you decided not to prosecute."

"There's no possible good that could come from it."

"Well that's your decision to make. On the other subject we discussed last time I was here."

"My dad you mean?"

"Yes, he's been arrested for child abuse and criminal neglect, I wasn't sure it was as bad as you'd said but, we had to force entry in the end. We found him on the living room floor just like you said. Not to mention the mess. Did you want him to visit? We can arrange it if you want."

"I don't have anything to say to him."

"I thought you'd say that somehow. I've also been told you have foster carers arranged already."

"Right, yeah, the Fujibayashi's have offered to take me in."

"Are you sure you'll be okay being around their other daughter so much."

"That won't be an issue." It was Ryou who answered, quite quickly too.

"Oh?"

"Alternative accommodation arrangements are being made." It was news to me.

"Fair enough. If you'll sign these, and I can get out of your way."

"So, umm… do you want to explain what 'Alternative accommodation arrangements' means."

"We have a small apartment behind our house, it was originally for my grandmother, but she's already passed away, so it's not really used. You're not angry with me are you."

"Angry?"

"Well you haven't really said yes to them fostering you yet and I just went ahead and…"

"It's okay, I was going to accept anyway, it's not like I have a lot of options, and this way I get to be near you too. There's no telling where I'd end up otherwise. Plus, I think I need to talk to Kyou before too much longer."

"Why do you want to talk to her?"

"I need to talk to her about what happened, and what happens from here on."

"Why?" I was well aware that Ryou was angry at Kyou, but I didn't expect her to be quite so hostile.

"Because I think it'll help both her and me, move on. Don't get me wrong I have no intention of making friends, but the last thing I want is to be responsible for her dragging her guilt around for years to come. I don't need that kind of baggage."

"I think I understand."

"Thanks, gorgeous, you don't have to be here when she comes if you don't want to."

"No, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with her in here alone with you."

"I really don't think she's going to attack me."

"I know, but she's unstable enough as it is. I just don't trust her."

"Okay, it'd be nice to have you here anyway."

"Thank you, when do you want to see her?"

"The sooner the better really."

"Okay, I'll get Daddy to tell her." It didn't go unnoticed that she was using an intermediary rather than telling Kyou herself, but it was understandable.

An hour later there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Kyou stepped in, looking worse than Ryou did when I first woke up.

"T-t-Tomoya, Ryou, thank you for seeing me."

"I'm here for Him, not you. And I don't think it's appropriate for you to continue calling him by his given name after what you've done." Kyou flinched at the venom in Ryou's voice.

"Easy Ryou, I don't need her running off before I've finished talking to her. Oh, and Fujibayashi-san she's right about my name."

"Sorry, Tomoya-kun, I lost my temper."

"That's okay sweetheart, I understand." Kyou stood a couple feet away from the end of my bed, looking down, she looked a lot like a little girl that was about to be told off by a teacher or parent.

"So, Fujibayashi-san, are you aware of the consequences of your lack of self-control?" Kyou nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't catch that."

"Y-yes I know that…" Her voice trailed off.

"That you've paralyzed me, put me in a wheelchair for the rest of my life."

"Yes." She had tears running down her face now, but I couldn't summon up much sympathy for her.

"Just so we're clear, I don't hate you, but every time I see you, it'll remind me of what I've lost, but I don't want you to have any sense of obligation to me, you don't owe me anything."

"W-why, didn't you…"?

"Why didn't I have you put in jail?" A nod "No good could come from it. One life damaged from this is more than enough."

"Thank you."

"I don't have it in me to forgive you, not after what you've taken from me. Did you want to say anything Ryou?"

"No, thank you Tomoya, but I have nothing to say to her."

"Thank you, Fujibayashi-san, you may leave."

"Can I just say something first?"

"There is nothing I want to hear from you right now." Kyou simply turned around and left.

As much as I know what I said to her was far from kind, I think she needed to hear it, and I definitely needed to say it. One day I may be able to forgive her, but until then, seeing her would just be a reminder of what I'd lost.

It was six weeks before the doctors said I would be able leave soon. In that time, Furukawa and Kotomi-chan visited a few times, there was lots of hand wringing and tears to begin with, but they calmed down and were able to interact with me normally, more or less.

Unfortunately for Furukawa, she had been just a few feet away from where I landed, and the stress and shock of seeing one of her best friends in that state was too much for her fragile health, she'd be off school ill herself for the better part of a month.

I had tried on several occasions to tell Ryou that she should return to school. I had missed so much school already that I would have to repeat the year and I didn't want her to have to do the same. Then she dropped her bombshell.

"Tomoya-kun, the school has already agreed to allow me to repeat the year with you, that way if you want any help, I can be there for you."

"What? When was that decided?"

"It was two weeks ago, and before you protest it was actually Mom's idea." Obviously in the last couple of weeks I'd met Ryou's parents a number of times, they were very kind and friendly, we got on really well thankfully and they did a lot to make me feel less guilty about imposing on them, especially after I heard that renovation work was being done to the apartment I was being provided with. By the time I move in, it'll be kitted out well enough that I'd be able to live independent of any outside help, not that Ryou was going to allow that.

I was increasingly beginning to believe that I'd be more than happy to spend the rest of my life with her. Although when the doctor cheerily informed us that we'd still be able to have children, we both turned bright red. Making both the doctor and nurse laugh out loud. But I thought I saw a trace of a smile on Ryou's face too.

Once they'd decided my spine was at no further risk of damage I was finally allowed to sit up.

"Finally, I can get a decent hug." Ryou giggled and came over to claim her hug. "I have missed this so much."

"Me too." I felt a tear drop on to my shoulder as she held me. "I love you so much."

"Love you too."

"I can come back later if you want." We'd both completely forgotten the doctor was still here.

"No, no that's not necessary." Ryou was blushing slightly as she sat back down.

"As I was saying, now we're confident your spine is stable, we can get you started on physiotherapy."

"Good, I was starting to get a bit restless being stuck on my back the whole time."

"I'm sure your physio will be glad to have a willing victim. I'm sure I don't need to ask if Ryou-chan will be here to help you."

'Victim? Doesn't he mean patient?'

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one."

"There is unfortunately a downside to your spine's level of recovery."

"It means I'm not going to get any more function back doesn't it."

"I'm afraid so, I wouldn't rule it out entirely, but it's extremely unlikely at this point."

"If I'm honest I hadn't expected to get anything back anyway."

"Most people in your situation fall into depression, but then again most people don't have someone as devoted as Ryou-chan."

"Yeah, the same thought occurred to me." Ryou just smiled and took my hand.

Two weeks of gruelling physio later I was convinced that physiotherapist was the wrong job title, more like physio-terrorist, my physio didn't disagree. But it was worth it, my upper body strength was far better than it was before my fall, and my shoulder was as good as new, almost like it had never been broken. I was able to get around in my wheelchair pretty well. With that confirmed by my physio, the doctor signed my release paperwork and wished me luck.

I was met outside the doors Ryou's parents.

"You ready to get out of here Tomoya-san?" Ryou's father smiled at me.

"Are you kidding me, I've been ready for weeks."

"I'm sure you have been, let's go get you settled in your new apartment shall we. I can get my youngest daughter back now at last. We've barely seen her lately."

"I did try to get her to go home a little more, but she wouldn't have it, she's more stubborn than I'd expected."

"Yes, she gets that from her mother."

"She does not."

"Of course not dear, sorry dear." Thankfully they were joking, living with them was going to be fun.


	3. Chapter 3 – Home?

**Chapter 3 – Home?**

It was more of a hassle getting into their car than I'd hoped frankly, it's hard to get your legs to cooperate when you don't have any muscle control over them. My physio had suggested that it may be helpful to strap my ankles and knees together, for better control, I just thought it couldn't possibly be helpful. I was beginning to change my mind already.

Once we arrived at their house, I could see there was a newly laid path leading round the side of the house. I couldn't help but feel a little awkward, they'd obviously spent a fair amount of money to make it possible for me to live there.

The path was one thing, but then I saw the "Small apartment" I'd be living in. As we entered my eye nearly popped out of my head.

"I thought you said it was small. This isn't much smaller than my dad's old place." To be fair, the main house was huge, so I guess it's relative.

"So, do you like it Tomoya-san?"

"Yeah, it's really, really nice."

"You've got level flooring throughout; the bathroom is a wet room and has all the handles and things you'll ever want." I was lost for words as Ryou's father gave me the tour. "The kitchen counters and appliances are low level, so you'll be able to cook for yourself. The bed is low down too, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to get yourself in and out."

"Y-y-you did all of this… for me?" I was feeling _really_ guilty; it must have cost a fortune to set this place up.

"Oh, no, no. This was supposed to be for my mother, she was very old and didn't get around too well, but she passed away before she could move in. All we've had to do to get it ready for you was to add a handle or grab rail here and there. So you don't need to feel awkward or guilty, okay?"

"Thank you, it's just going to take me a while to adjust to… my new situation."

"I don't doubt it. There's an intercom that'll calls the main house, it's around here somewhere…" Ryou's parents both started rummaging under pillows and things. "Ah ha! Got it, I swear this thing has a life of its own. The green button calls us, or answers an incoming call, and the big red one is for emergencies, I think you'll work the rest out. Ryou knows how everything works anyway."

"Thank you, Hatsuo-san I really, really appreciate everything you're doing for me."

"You're welcome, Tomoya-san, and try to relax, you're home now."

"Oh, and Ryou, we don't mind if you want to stay out here, just for tonight mind you. Just behave yourself." Both Ryou and I turned bright red at what they were implying. Hatsuo-san chuckled to himself as he and Kaori-san left.

"Home huh?" I'd said it mostly to myself really but Ryou must have heard me, she gave me a slightly worried look.

"D-do you not want to think that you can feel at home here or…"

"No, It's nothing like that, it's just… I'm not sure when I last felt like I had a home, my dad's place was, well… my dad's place, just a roof and four walls as far as I'm concerned, the only place I spent time other than school was Sunohara's dorm room. What's he up to by the way? I'd expected him to at least drop by once."

"I was putting off telling you, I know he's your friend and…" Ryou, stalled mid-sentence.

"What happened."

"He got expelled and had to go back home."

"Expelled, what for?"

"He got into a fight with the captain of the soccer team, and when a teacher tried to break it up, he… punched the teacher."

"He always had a bit of a temper when it came to that guy."

Ryou sat on a stool next to me in the kitchen.

"Tomoya-kun."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you ever think about what you'll do? For work I mean."

"Yeah, I have been thinking about it a lot in the last few weeks. Between my crap exam results and now the wheelchair… I don't know what my options are really."

"Well, I umm…"

"Come on Ryou, you know you can speak your mind with me." I gave her hand a squeeze.

"Well, you see, when my parents fostered you, they got a look at your school record."

"Oh dear, I'm assuming they weren't too happy, they don't want you to break up with me, do they?" It seemed a fair assumption to me, who in their right mind would want to let their daughter to date a delinquent that barely made it through the first two years of school, was repeating my third year and stuck in a wheelchair to boot.

"NO, NO Nothing like that!" Ryou jumped over to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Okay." I am officially confused now. "Well, what then?"

"They have arranged for you to take the first and second-year exams again, when everyone else sits them later in the year."

"Huh?" definitely confused now.

"They don't blame you for your school record." More confused now. "They said that all of the problems you've had with school are because you never had a parent there to guide you, and you had to deal with the loss of the function of your shoulder, caused by him, that took away a promising sporting career."

I was completely dumbfounded.

"I have no idea what to say."

"They discussed it at length with the school and the best solution they came up with was to re-sit the exams, if you need more time to study for the second-year exams, they'll schedule an exam during next year's term time. It's partly why I'm staying off for the rest of the year."

"Huh, what do you mean that's why you're staying off?"

"I'm going to be helping you study."

"Wow… I am lost for words." Ryou grinned at me.

"It's great news, right?"

"Yeah… although the irony isn't lost on me."

"Irony?"

"Yeah, if I hadn't fallen out of that window, I wouldn't have the chance to re-sit my exams."

"I hadn't thought of it like that… at least there's some good that's come out of all you've been through."

"There's getting away from my dad too, don't forget that."

"True. Come on let's go watch tv for a bit, I want to snuggle."

"I like the sound of that." Once I managed to get on the sofa Ryou claimed her spot cuddled into my chest. "Not that I'm complaining, but you never used to be so comfortable with physical affection."

"I know, but we've been through a lot the last few months. And I really missed being held by you."

"Yeah, we have been through the mill a bit, haven't we, I think we're past the worst of it now."

"Negisa-chan, asked if it'd be okay for her to visit after school tomorrow."

"What day is it today again? I keep losing track, one day is much the same as the next in hospital."

"It's Friday today, so she'd be getting here at about lunch time."

"Yeah, that's fine, how has she been doing lately? I know she was ill for a while after my fall."

"She's doing better, still a little fragile, but I think it'd be good for her to see you in a more normal setting."

"It must have been hard on both of you really, having to see what you did. Are you okay, yourself? I know we haven't really talked about it much; I don't know how I'd cope if I had to see that happen to you."

"It was horrible, especially before you woke up, I just kept seeing you falling or lying there covered in blood… but I think I'm okay now you're so much better, I haven't had any nightmares for weeks so I'm managing to move on I think."

"If that changes, please don't just try and tough it out, post-traumatic stress can creep up on you, so promise me you'll go and see someone if you need to."

"I will, I promise."

"In a lot of ways, I'm glad I don't remember any of it."

"Can we talk about something a bit less gloomy; I just want to enjoy having you back."

"Of course, actually, is there any food in this place? I don't know about you but I'm starting to get hungry."

"Oh, Daddy said we could order a takeaway tonight, there's a few basics in so we can have breakfast tomorrow morning and we can go shopping after Negisa-chan's visit."

"Wait, 'We' can have breakfast?"

"You heard Mom, I'm allowed to stay here tonight, and there's no way I'm leaving if I don't have to, we've got a lot of cuddles to catch up on."

"I never expected you to turn out to be such a snuggle bug, I'm not complaining, it's just unexpected."

"I had a lot of time with my 'what ifs' while you were unconscious, one of my biggest regrets was that I was always so reserved and held you at arm's length a lot of the time, when all you wanted to do was show me how much you cared. So, when you woke up, I decided that I had a second chance and I wouldn't make the same mistake again. I don't think I'm ready for public environments yet though."

"Lots of people don't like seeing public displays of affection anyway, and if I'm really honest, you always look really cute when you blush because I've kissed you or something."

"I doubt that'll change anytime soon; I've always blushed really easily. Back to the subject of food, what would you like for dinner?"

"I don't really mind too much, as long as there's some fresh vegetable and real meat involved, I'll be happy."

"I'm didn't expect you to want fresh vegetables."

"I've been stuck with hospital food for months, don't get me wrong it wasn't horrible or anything, but most of the time you could practically suck the vegetables through a straw."

"Okay, I know a sushi place that does great yasai rolls."

"Sounds awesome."

It was really good to get some real food for once, but the thing I liked the most was something as simple as siting at the dinner table with Ryou, to just feel normal again.

We sat on the sofa and watched some tv for a while, but it wasn't too long before Ryou started to yawn.

"Do you want to go to bed soon?" Ryou instantly went bright red. "Y-you looked sleepy that's all." It did feel more than a little strange frankly, it's not like there's a spare bedroom, for some reason I couldn't shake the feeling that the fact her parents were okay with it just made it seem even stranger.

"Y-yes, I'll go and get changed." Still blushing Ryou went back to the main house to get changed. By the time I'd got myself off the sofa and into my wheelchair and then worked out where all my clothes were, Ryou had already returned, she look really adorable in pink pyjamas with teddy bears on and fluffy bunny slippers.

"Have you managed to find everything?" She was still blushing, I'm sure I was too, neither one of us has shared a bed with a member of the opposite sex before.

"No, not yet, where did my pjs get put?"

"Umm, the top draw over there I think." Ryou pointed to the set of draws on the other side of the room.

"Right, thanks, I'll let you know when I'm done." Ryou nodded and left the room closing the door behind her. Despite having been practicing getting in and out of my chair, and getting changed, it's still really awkward to do. "Okay Ryou, you can come back in now." Ryou's head poked into the room tentatively.

"Are you okay Tomoya-kun? You look a little sad."

"It's just that I'm starting to realize, how much more difficult everything is going to be now."

"It'll get easier in time, and I'll be here to support you."

"Yeah, thanks… I don't know what I'd do without you." Ryou sat down on my lap and ran her fingers through my hair.

"You'd keep pushing forward, just like you always have." She leaned forward and kissed me.

"Didn't your mom say you had to behave yourself?" Ryou blushed slightly.

"I know, but you're so handsome, I couldn't help myself."

"Hmm, I'll have to remember that, maybe we should go to sleep, before you decide you can't help yourself again." Ryou went bright red and she averted her eyes, but she had a big smile on her face, I hadn't seen her smile so much in months. She slipped under the covers and sat, waiting for me. As soon as I was in bed and laid on my back, she shuffled over and laid against my side and rested her head on my chest. "Comfortable?"

"Very comfortable, thank you. Good night Tomoya-kun." I was beginning to think she was going to be a bit of a hand full at this rate.

"Good night gorgeous." I placed a kiss on her forehead and closed my eyes.

I awoke in the morning to an empty bed and the smell of coffee. Figuring I may as well get up. I was halfway through getting dressed when the bedroom door opened.

*Eeep* "S-s-sorry! I thought y-you were still asleep." Her squeak of shock was kind of cute.

"No worries Ryou, I'll be out in a minute." When I came out of the bedroom, I found a fully dressed but still blushing Ryou in the kitchen making breakfast. "Good morning gorgeous, that coffee smells great."

"Good morning Tomoya-kun, I know how much you like your coffee so I made sure there was some nice beans in for when you came home."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"I did, thank you, I had the best night's sleep I've had in months." Ryou smiled and handed me a mug of coffee.

"Me too, mmm, real coffee."

"Did you not like the coffee at the hospital?"

"That's not actually coffee."

"It wasn't that bad."

"No, I mean that literally, it's not coffee, it's chicory."

"I had no idea."

"Lots of people can't tell the difference, but chicory doesn't contain caffeine."

"It would explain why it didn't seem to help me stay awake. I've made us some Miso soup and rice, and don't worry, Mom showed me how to make the soup."

"I wasn't worried." Yeah, I was actually. "Maybe we should try learning to cook together, I've got this lovely kitchen, it'd be a shame not to use it."

"That would be lovely, we can get some cookbooks when we go shopping later."

"Sounds like a plan, did you have anything else you want to do today?"

"Well, we've got Negisa-chan dropping in at lunch time and we need to go shopping after that…" I couldn't quite manage to stifle a chuckle. "What's funny?"

"It's just that the way you're talking, it makes it sound like we're…"

"Like we're what?"

"A married couple." Ryou turned bright red like always, but just like last night she had a big smile too. "Anyway, I was thinking, it would probably be a good idea if I did some sort of mock exams or something, so we have a decent idea of what I need to work on most."

"Good idea, I'll have a look through the material the school gave me and see what's there."

A couple of hours and a mock test later.

"Well, it's not as bad as I expected, actually." It was still pretty bad though.

"Your math score is actually pretty good, but your spelling and grammar need quite a bit of work."

"Yeah, spelling and grammar were always early in the day, so I either missed it all together or fell asleep part way through. Math always seemed easy though."

"Good, math is very important, but so are spelling and grammar."

"I should do okay this time around; I've heard the teacher is kind of cute." Ryou giggled and playfully hit me on the arm.

"Negisa-chan will be here soon, would you like some tea, or would you rather some coffee."

"You may as well do a pot of tea, if Furukawa is nearly hear she'll likely prefer tea."

"I'll make the tea, could you pack up your schoolbooks please?"

"Will do." I was still packing my stuff away when the doorbell rang. Ryou got to it before I did, so Furukawa was already in the lounge when I got there. "Furukawa, it's good to see you, how are you doing? I heard you'd been sick."

"I am much better, thank you." She still looked quite frail to me. "It is good to see you out of hospital at last, we were so worried about you."

"We?"

"Kotomi-chan, and… and me." She was definitely holding something back.

"It is good to be out, it felt like I'd been stuck in that bed for an eternity." Furukawa's lip began to tremble, and her eyes began to water. "Hey, it's okay, I'm alright now." I leaned forward and pulled her in for a hug. The dam broke and Furukawa cried into my shoulder.

"I'll go and get the tea." Ryou stroked Furukawa's hair briefly and left to give us a little privacy. It took nearly ten minutes for Furukawa to calm down, but she seemed somewhat brighter once she did.

"I'm sorry Okazaki-kun I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay, I know what you saw must have been traumatic for you, and it's better if you can let it out and begin to move on. And call me Tomoya, everyone else does."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, we've known each other for a while now, and you're one of my closest friends, plus it'd be a little odd, I mean you're the only one who doesn't call me Tomoya since Ryou and I started dating." Furukawa's eyes became a little watery again, but she smiled.

"Thank you Ok… T-Tomoya-kun, it means a lot that you feel we are that close. You can call me Negisa, o-only I-if you want to that is."

"Alright, Negisa-chan it is." She blushed a little, but given she was quite pale to begin with, she just looked a little healthier rather than blushing.

"Oh, I almost forgot, my Dad gave me some anpan to give to you."

"Really, that's great, your Dad makes the best anpan, tell him thanks for me will you."

"I will, he said that you should come to the bakery again soon, he wanted to play catch with you I think, my Mom and I aren't very good."

"Yeah, that'd be fun, I'll poke my head in next time I'm nearby."

"My Mom has been worrying about you too, we read about what your Dad did in the paper."

"The paper, why on earth would that make it into the paper?"

"W-well they had already written a piece about your… fall, a-and then someone told them about your Dad being arrested, and that you would need a…"

"Wheelchair? It's okay, it isn't a dirty word or anything, I'm paraplegic so I need my chair to get around, I don't want people around me walking on eggshells, trying not to upset me or something."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't sure what to say…"

"It's alright Negisa-chan, it's not just me that has to get used to it, but really don't want people to act differently around me."

"I will try my best. Once they heard you were paralysed, they turned it into a big story, so my Mom was worried about where you'd live once you got out of hospital."

"The Fujibayashi's have fostered me, and they've been really, really supportive, so there's no need to worry, it's all worked out for the best."

"Oh, that's really nice of them to do that for you. It's certainly a very nice apartment."

"It gorgeous isn't it, I'll admit it was a bit overwhelming when I got here last night. I wasn't expecting so nice, but it'll be nice to be able to get around and do things for myself. And better still Ryou is close by too." Negisa gave me slightly awkward smile, for some reason she always looked uncomfortable any time I showed any kind of affection toward Ryou, maybe she just one of those people that doesn't like public displays of affection, at least I hope that's all it is.

"What's going to happen about school, you've been off for quite a while, are they going to make you repeat the year?"

"Ryou and I are both going to be repeating the year." Negisa look genuinely shocked that Ryou was going to be repeating the year too, to be fair, Ryou is pretty much a model student, granted she's been off as long as I have this time around, but she hadn't missed a day other than that. "I'm going to be spending the rest of this year catching up with all the lessons I either skipped or slept through, so I'll be able to retake my first and second-year exams. Ryou is going to be tutoring me."

"Oh, that's wonderful. It's amazingly generous of you to give up a whole year so you can help Tomoya-kun."

"Well, he's very important to me and he has already helped me a lot too." She had the same awkward smile again.

"Yes, h-he is very kind, and always helps people. I never would have been able to revive the theatre club if he hadn't helped me."

"That reminds me, how's the club going, are you still going to do that show at the founders festival?"

"The theatre club is going to be disbanded again, there aren't enough members anymore."

"Not enough members?"

"W-well, since you and Ryou-chan have left, and well Kyou-chan doesn't really talk to anyone anymore, not since she… she got back off suspension." I felt a pang of guilt when I heard about how it had affected Kyou. Maybe I was too harsh on her.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, do you still hang out with Kotomi-chan?"

"It's not your fault, I see Kotomi most days, we have lunch together in the courtyard."

"That's good to hear, I was a bit worried she'd disappear back into the library. How is she doing? I only saw her a couple of times while I was in the hospital."

"She's doing much better now, but she still gets quite worried if anyone stands near an open window."

"Maybe we should try and get her some help, if something like that is upsetting her that much, well it's not healthy. What about you, are you coping okay? I know you were pretty close when it happened."

"I have had a few nightmares, and I don't really like going to the area where it happened."

"I kind of feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record with this, but have you talked to anyone about it?"

"No, but I don't know if I could talk to a stranger like that."

"Maybe you could talk to your parents then, it's just it's one of the things that they really drummed into me at the hospital, bottling it up will just make it worse later on."

"D-did you, see anyone? I-I-if I-it's too personal then…"

"It's fine, yes I spoke to a councillor a few times, not about the fall though, I still don't remember anything after walking to school that morning but adjusting to the fact I'll be in this wheelchair for the rest of my life hasn't been easy." Negisa looked to be quite deep in thought for a moment.

"I'll think about it, thank you for worrying about me. I need to get home; my Dad will worry otherwise."

"Alright, it was really good to see you, drop in anytime you like, okay."

"Thank you, I will, see you soon." Ryou walked her to the door as they said their goodbyes.

"Ryou, have you spoken to your sister lately?"

"Not since she came to the hospital to see you, why?" From Ryou's tone, I could tell she was still quite angry at Kyou.

"I'm starting to think that, maybe I was too hard on her… I was angry, but lately I don't really feel that so much anymore."

"After what she did to you it's completely understandable that you'd be angry, I don't really think you were that hard on her considering. I don't think anybody would have blamed you if you had pressed charges."

"I know it's understandable, but that doesn't necessarily make it right. From what Negisa-chan was saying, Kyou is obviously hurting, and honestly I don't know if it's right to keep punishing her." Ryou frowned as she thought about what I'd said.

"I see what you're saying, but… I'm just not sure I'm ready to forgive her just yet."

"I know it's been harder on you in some ways, because you were around for the immediate aftermath that I don't remember, I just ask that you think about it, the whole reason I didn't press charges was because I didn't want to see another life irreparably harmed, but by the sounds of it she doing a decent job of doing that to herself anyway."

"Maybe… I don't know, I'll think about it. Shall we go and get the shopping we wanted?"

"Yeah sure, you know, the way you talk about it, it makes it sound like you're moving in here with me." Ryou's cheeks flush pink.

"W-well, I-I will be spending quite a lot of time her, I mean tutoring you and… and we were going to learn to cook together and… well… umm."

"It's alright Ryou, I was only teasing, I'd love it if you could spend as much time as you want here." She still looked a little flustered, but she did relax.

Once we made it into town, we decided to stop for a drink and a bite to eat, frankly I was exhausted by the time we got there and really needed a break.

"I'm sure those hills weren't that steep before, I mean seriously who designed this town, it's like an extra hundred yards to get to a set of ramps so I can cross the road and then it's another hundred yards to get back to where I would have been if I could just cross the road where ever I wanted."

"I would have pushed if you wanted me to." Ryou was looking a little worried at my little rant.

"I know you would, but I need to get fitter so I can do this sort of thing for myself, I really don't like being reliant on other people, so it's frustrating. At least it mostly downhill on the way back so that could be fun."

"Okay, I will try not to fuss over you too much. Well maybe I'll fuss a little bit… I can't help it."

"It's alright, I know you do it because you love me, and if I'm honest I'd probably fuss over you even more if it was you struggling with something." I placed my hand on top of hers. "If we didn't want to help each other it would be a pretty bad sign for the future of our relationship, don't you think?"

"That's true."

"So, what are we shopping for today?"

"Well, Mom will get most of it in really, but I thought it would be nice for you to get out, and I can get an idea of what you want in for the future this way, oh, and we were going to look at some cook books weren't we."

"Makes sense, it is good to get out in the fresh air for once."

"We're probably best going to the bookshop first, rather than try getting around there with a bunch of shopping."

"You know, sitting here, having nice cakes and coffee, it kind of feels like a date."

"I thought the same thing; it's been a while since we've been out together like this."

"Well there's nothing stopping us now."

We finished our cakes and drinks and headed off to the bookshop, unfortunately when we arrived, we discovered a problem, there was a step in the door in to the shop, it wasn't very high, maybe only an inch or so, but that's plenty to stop my front wheels from riding over it. In the end I had to basically pop a wheelie and thrust forward with enough speed to get the back wheels up the step, it went far from smoothly, requiring two or three tries before I got in. Once inside things didn't improve much.

"You know, I never noticed it before, but these shelves are kind of close together." I only had about three inches clearance on either side, so if there was anyone in the aisle I either had to ask them to let me past or go down a different aisle and double back. "Okay, where are the cookbooks?"

"I think they're on the back wall."

"Figures they'd be back there."

"What's wrong with that?" Ryou looked quite puzzled by my irritation.

"Towards the back of the store, there's a set of stairs." It's only three steps but that's three more than I can manage. Ryou looked dejected.

"Oh… maybe there's a lift or a ramp or something."

"Well we may as well take a look." All we found was a sign saying we should ask a member of staff. Ryou left me where I was, partly because navigating the store was a giant pain in the backside.

When Ryou returned she was being followed by a staff member carrying a folding metal ramp, he set the ramp up on the stairs, it was better than the stairs but it was still really steep and took an significant effort to get up, not to mention the attention it drew amongst the other shoppers, I'd already been attracting looks and stares before this debacle and I was rapidly running out of patience with the on lookers, but I had to satisfy myself with glaring at the ones that made it too obvious, thankfully this tactic worked without fail.

"Right then, here at last, *sigh* you'll have to tell me what's on the top two shelves, I can't see them from this angle."

"I'm really sorry, Tomoya-kun, I thought this would be nice and relaxing but…"

"It's alright Ryou, it's not your fault the shops don't take wheelchair users into account. I guess this is just something I'll have to get used to dealing with. Although online shops are becoming more and more attractive." Ryou was frowning slightly but tried to smile anyway. "Never mind, let's just try and enjoy ourselves as much as we can, do you see anything to looks interesting?" We browsed the shelves for a while, until we bumped into a familiar face.

"Kotomi-chan, it's good to see you, you on your monthly book binge, are you?"

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi's momentary surprise was followed by a quite force full hug, rolling me a good foot backwards.

"Kotomi-chan, it's nice that you're happy to see me but I can't breathe." Kotomi released me instantly.

"I am sorry Tomoya-kun, I was very pleased to see you out of the hospital. I tried going to your house, but there was nobody there."

"My house, do you mean my dad's place?" Kotomi looked a little confused but nodded. "Didn't you hear about what happened?"

"I do not believe so." She was looking more confused than ever.

"My dad was arrested, and as I'm legally a minor I can't stay there, even if I could afford the rent. And it's not even slightly wheelchair friendly." Confusion gave way to shock and horror.

"I-I did not realize I am very sorry; it must have been hard for you to have him arrested like that." She was doing her best to adapt to the new information, but as our time in the theatre club proved, Kotomi sucks at improvisation.

"Considering he was arrested for child abuse no not really." She looked to be on the verge of either crying or running away. "Calm down Kotomi, it's alright, you weren't to know. It's fine, really."

"W-where a-are you staying? Y-you c-can stay at my house if you need to… but there are some stairs." Still looking like she was going to cry, she did her best to try and help.

"It's very kind of you to offer, but Ryou's parents are taking care of me, they've got a wheelchair accessible apartment behind their house that they are letting me use."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful, if I can be of any assistance, I am happy to help."

"Thank you Kotomi-chan I appreciate the thought. You must come by and visit some time."

"W-would that really be okay?" Her eyes were fliting between Ryou and myself, I couldn't quite work out what she was thinking, but that was true a lot of the time when it came to Kotomi.

"Yes of course, Negisa-chan came around for tea earlier today." Ryou did her best to calm the flustered and confused Kotomi.

"Actually, there is something you could help us with." Kotomi brightened noticeably.

"I would be most pleased to help."

"Ryou and I are going to try and learn to cook together, so we're looking for a good beginner's book, do you have any ideas?" She thought for a moment.

"Yes, I believe I do know of some excellent books, come this way." Kotomi set off at pace and Ryou and I only just kept up with her. Kotomi selected six books that were appropriate for us, it was more than we'd planned on buying but she was quite excited for some reason.

"If you like I could, help you to learn to cook."

"Yeah, you're a pretty good cook aren't you; I'll tell you what, we'll give these books a try and if we're still struggling, we'll give you a call, would that be okay?"

"Oh, yes Tomoya-kun, I would be very pleased to help you."

"Thank you, Kotomi-chan, it was very kind of you to offer to help us." Ryou, seemed to be trying to remind Kotomi that it was both of us, that were learning, not just me.

"Well, we need to get going, we still have some other shopping to do. It was good to see you, and thanks again for the help."

"It was pleasing to see you also, if there is anything else, I can help you with, please do ask."

We headed off to pay for our books, unfortunately the ramp I had used to get up the stairs had been removed, so Ryou had to go and find a member of staff to bring it back again. Sitting waiting at the top of the stairs I was drawing attention again, seriously, what's so interesting about a guy in a wheelchair?

Once the ramp was returned, I suggested that Ryou went to pay for the book while I tried to navigate my way out of the store, and we could meet back up at the front door.

Even with having to wait in line to pay Ryou was still waiting for me by the time I made it out.

"I think we need to find a different bookshop."

"I'm not sure where there is another one, maybe Kotomi-chan would know."

"That's true, she does go around every bookshop in town at least once a month. I'll ask her when I see her next, I think we've got enough books for now. You may as well stick the books in my backpack." Ryou slipped the books into the bag we had hung on the back of my wheelchair.

"Shall we head to the supermarket, or would you rather head home?"

"Let's head off and finish the shopping, the bookshop may have been annoying, but the supermarket should be much easier."

"I hope so, I wouldn't want you to have to go through that again."

"I think we're just going to have to get used to it to a point, we'll just have to think which shops we're best able to access before we go out. It's aggravating, but it's just the way it's going to be." Ryou sighed, dejectedly.

"I suppose you're right."

"Did you want to go to that fortune telling booth thing again?"

"No, I don't want to do that sort of thing anymore."

"How come?" Ryou hesitated, chewing her thumb nail a little.

"The morning of your fall I did a reading for us."

"What did it say?"

"It said that something wonderful was going to happen, that we'd be really happy."

"I see, alright I think I understand, I won't bring it up again."

"Thank you."

We headed off to the supermarket, mercifully it wasn't too far, the town was getting a little more crowded, now that all of the students had been out of school long enough to get changed and return to the town centre. A high proportion of them were from our school, so most of them knew who I was and what had happened. Frustratingly this made me pretty much the centre of attention, most of them just watched as we passed by, but a few did stop to say hello or wish me well, which was nice for the most part, but the staring was really getting on my nerves.

Surprisingly it was Ryou who was the first to say something to a group of students that were being less than subtle about their staring. It was quite amusing, as I watched her stomp off toward them and give them an ear full, I couldn't hear what she was saying, but she looked like a mother scolding some small children. The group moved on and Ryou stomped back to my side.

"Feel better now?"

"Yes, I do actually, honestly, don't they have anything better to do?"

"It's been bugging me too, frankly I'm starting to feel like an exhibit at a freak show. I guess someone in a wheelchair is a pretty rare sight around here, I just hope they lose interest soon." When I looked over at Ryou she was scowling at another group of people from our school. "Come on let's go and get our shopping and get back home."

The supermarket was far easier to get around, nice wide aisles and smooth flat floors, granted I still couldn't reach the higher shelves, but I could at least see what was on them. Getting home was far easier too, the vast majority of it was downhill, so I barely needed to push at all.

All things considered we learned three things from my maiden voyage in to our local town centre, first the wheelchair accessibility of a lot of shops sucks immensely, two I really need to work on my stamina and third I don't handle being watched as well as I'd like, for that matter neither does Ryou. The learning curve was going to have to be steep.


	4. Chapter 4 – Growth

**Chapter 4 – Growth**

After a couple of weeks living in my new home I was fairly well settled in, it was still really frustrating that I need both hands free to be able to move myself forwards, it's not something that you think about normally, but how exactly do you "carry" things when you're in a wheelchair? The most effective way to push the wheels round, is to lean forwards, the further forward the better, but in general, you make a compromise between power, and practicality, leaning forward just enough that your shoulder is in front of the axel of the wheel. But how do you do that when you have to transport something on your lap, mostly this means that you sit upright, unfortunately this is a really inefficient position to push from.

The other thing that really irritates me, is people behaving differently around me. At the extreme end of the spectrum was a shopkeeper that insisted on only addressing Ryou, even when asking what I would like. But even Ryou would occasionally do something, for instance, one afternoon she asked if I would like to go for a walk, a bit of a faux pas, but I didn't really care, Ryou however freaked out a bit, apologising over and over, frankly the excessive apologising was far, far more annoying that asking about going for a walk.

Aside from the occasional bump in the road, literal and metaphorical, things were going pretty well. I was doing well in my studies with Fujibayashi-sensei, math turned out to be a surprise strong point, grammar and spelling… not so much. I was adapting well to being in the chair (mostly). But I couldn't shake the thought that I should talk to Kyou. This was further compounded when Ryou's parents pointed out that Ryou was spending every possible minute in the apartment with me, so they saw her even less than they did while I was in hospital, the suggested compromise was that we would eat dinner in the main house a couple of times a week, of course Kyou was still living there, and would probably be present at these meals, so far she had gone to great lengths to avoid both of us, if either one of us was in a room she entered, she would instantly turn back around and leave. And if we entered a room that she was in she would slip away when we weren't looking.

"Ryou, there's something I think we need to discuss."

"It's about Onee-chan isn't it." I hadn't heard her call Kyou Onee-chan since before my fall, so it seemed like a good sign.

"Yeah, it is, I keep thinking that I was too hash…" Ryou interrupted me.

"We were too harsh." I was going to try and dispute the we, but the look in her eye changed my mind.

"Negisa-chan and Kotomi-chan, both say she's still not talking to anyone at school, and I can't help thinking that the effect on her life has been worse than mine."

"How can you say that!" Ryou was prone to thinking of my situation as worse than I do.

"She has no friends, she doesn't feel like she can even stay in the room of her own home that she wants to, and I have a home for the first time in my life, my studies are getting better and better and I have you. I feel like I have taken so much away from her, including her own twin sister." Ryou was quiet for a while as she thought about what I had said.

"Maybe you are right."

"The question is, what do we do about it? Do we go to her or do we invite her to come here?"

"It might be best if we invite her here, that way if she wants to leave, it's easier for her."

"Yeah, good thinking, how do we get her to come here, do you think your mom would help us?"

"She definitely will."

"Alright, we tell your Mom what we have in mind and ask her it invite Kyou to come at a time that Kyou chooses. How does that sound?"

"It's worth a try." She didn't look too optimistic to be honest, but given Kyou's apparent mental state, it was probably justified.

In the end Kyou did decline our first, second and third invitation. In the end, her Dad insisted, all this made me less than optimistic that the meeting would go well.

"Onee-chan, would you like to sit down." Ryou was trying her best to sound relaxed and friendly, Kyou on the other hand, looked like a scared animal, looking for a way to escape.

"O-okay, w-what did you want to see me for?" Kyou sat at the end of the sofa furthest from Ryou, hugging her arms across her body. She had lost weight, so she looked fairly skinny and she was also quite pale.

"I guess it makes more sense if I go first," Kyou looked really quite frightened as I spoke to her. "Well, I umm…" I had rehearsed this moment in advance, but Kyou's appearance had thrown me off. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." I didn't have chance to finish what I was going to say.

"What!? W-what a-are y-you sorry for?" It goes largely without saying that she was surprised.

"I, sorry. We were too hard on you, when you came to the hospital, I was angry and depressed and scared… it may have been understandable, but that doesn't make it right." Kyou sat with her mouth open, completely stunned.

"Onee-chan, I need to apologise as well," Kyou's head rotated to face her sister, but her expression remained unchanged. "I was hurting, exhausted and scared, but I shouldn't have been so horrible to you. Can you ever forgive me?" Tears rolled down Ryou's cheeks.

Kyou looked at me then back at Ryou, before she started to cry as well. Ryou reached for Kyou to hug her, but Kyou pulled away holding up a finger, asking Ryou to wait a moment, her lip was trembling a lot, and she looked like she was barely holding it together.

"I… *sniffle* I… am… *sniffle* so sorry… if… *sob* I could… do anything to… *sniff* take it… back, I'm so sorry." Kyou finally broke down and fell in to Ryou's arms. It was at least twenty minutes before they released each other and another ten minutes after that before anyone spoke.

"Why?" Kyou still wasn't quite making eye contact with me, she'd look up but then look away again. It'll take time to repair the damage to our relationships, if I'm honest, I don't really think it'll ever go back to how it was before, but I can hope.

"Why did we apologise to you?" Kyou nodded. "We've been hearing from Kotomi-chan and Negisa-chan that you haven't been talking to anyone at all in school, and you always leave when we enter a room even in your own home, things like that. It got me thinking that your life had been more negatively affected than mine."

"How can you say that? You… you… you're…"

"In a wheelchair? Yes, that's true, and don't get me wrong, being in a wheelchair is a huge and life changing thing, but since my fall, I'm free from my dad, I have a fabulous apartment all to myself, more or less anyway." I looked over at Ryou, who smiled bashfully, and blushed. "I'm getting the chance to retake the exams from the first two years of school, and I can spend as much time as I want with Ryou. Almost all of that would never have happened if I had never ended up this way."

"But…"

"I guess what I'm driving at is, I forgive you. But can you forgive me?" Kyou stared at me for what felt like an eternity, before she nodded and broke down in to floods of tears, Ryou wrapped her arms around her sister and let Kyou cry on to her shoulder, Ryou had tears running down her face as well.

I'm not so idealistic or naive to believe that it was all better and we could go back to the way the way things were, but it was a start.

A month passed, Ryou and Kyou were getting on well and they had been out shopping a couple of times, Kyou had come to my apartment for coffee, it felt like a breakthrough of sorts for her interactions with me, for her to have come to me, without having to be invited first, her excuse at the time was that Ryou bought better coffee for me than her parents did for themselves. It was a bit stiff to begin with, but it improved as we got a little more comfortable.

Kotomi reported that Kyou had returned to the old club room, technically there wasn't a theatre club anymore, but nobody objected to their continued use of the room, again, Kyou had apparently been very shy with Kotomi and Negisa as well, I guess a few months of avoiding the rest of the world will do that to you. Unfortunately, it wasn't long after Kyou's return to the club room that Negisa fell ill again, but at least it meant Kotomi wouldn't be alone while Negisa was off.

Only one other thing of note happened in that time, towards the end of the month, my dad's trial began. The first thing I knew about this was when Ryou was a little later than usual arriving for our tutoring session.

"Tomoya-kun, there's something important I need to tell you." She looked really nervous.

"Okay." She sat down next to me and placed her hand on my knee, it was intended to be a supportive gesture, but given I couldn't actually feel it, it was a little absurd, to the point where I nearly laughed. She noticed my amusement and raised an eyebrow for a moment before she realised what I thought was funny and took hold of my hand instead.

"It's about your Dad."

"Okay, what about him?"

"They've set a date for his trial to start."

"Trial? I thought he'd just plead guilty and get it all over without fuss."

"He is pleading guilty to the charge of child abuse, but he is disputing the criminal neglect charge."

"How the hell is going to try and defend the fact his son was in a coma for over a week, and he didn't even notice!" I hadn't so much as thought about him since I got here, but for some reason, the fact he was denying he did anything wrong really pissed me off. "Sorry Ryou, I didn't mean to shout, it's just… What the hell, seriously, is he nuts as well as a drunkard?"

"It's okay Tomoya-kun, I'd be more worried if it didn't make you angry. But because it's going to trail, it means that…"

"It means what?"

"You may be called to testify in court."

"I don't know how much testimony I could give; I was in a coma for most of the time he's being charged for."

"I know, but Dad said that the prosecutor wanted you to be aware that it was possible."

"I guess that's good of him to give me a little warning. I just can't believe he's pleading not guilty, seriously, what the hell is wrong with him?"

"I don't know, I was hoping that it would all just blow over and you wouldn't have to be bothered by it." Ryou look quite downcast.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get through it, and then we can go back to normal, or what passes for normal around here anyway."

Later that week, Hatsuo-san came to talk to me.

"Tomoya, I need to talk to you about the court case."

"Okay."

"I'd tell you to sit down but it looks like you've beaten me to it," Hatsuo-san had a habit of making jokes when he was worried about something. "Your dad has offered to plead guilty to both charges, on one condition."

"Suddenly I have a sinking feeling, alright, what's his condition?"

"He wants you to go and see him."

"After all this time and all he's done, he actually wants me to visit him… in prison. Real father of the year material there."

"I completely understand if you don't want to go and see him, but the chances are you'll end up having to see him anyway, if it goes to trial. And this way, you can just leave it he says something you don't like. Just give it some thought and let me know, what you want to do. I'll support your decision either way. But personally, I'd say the visit is the lesser of two evils. I'll leave you in peace, at least until Ryou turns up anyway." He placed his hand on my shoulder as he stood up. "You know where we are if you want to talk it out."

"Yeah I know, thanks, I appreciate it." The promised peace lasted for about half an hour, before Ryou returned from a shopping trip with Kyou.

"Tomoya-kun, look what I bought you," Ryou was excitedly pulling things out of her shopping bags. "What's wrong?" Ryou had become very, very good at reading my mood.

"My dad wants to see me."

"He wants what!" Her reaction was much the same as mine, maybe not quite as restrained.

"He's offered to plead guilty to both charges, if I go and see him."

"What did Daddy think about it."

"His take on it was that I'll end up having to see him at the trial anyway, so it would be better to go and see him, because I can leave if he says something I don't like, having said that I think 'hello' would be included in that category at the moment."

"Have you told him what you want to do yet?"

"No, he told me to think about it first, and I wanted to talk it out with you first." Ryou flopped down next to me and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Hmm, what Daddy said does make sense, but… would you have to talk to him in court?"

"I don't think so, but a trial would take a while, so I'd probably see him a lot more, even if I don't have to talk to him at all."

"Maybe it would be better to get it over with then."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But there was one thing I wanted to ask you."

"Of course, I'll go with you."

"I was hoping you'd say that, thanks." Ryou just smiled and returned to her shopping bags.

I told Hatsuo-san that I'd agree to go and visit my dad, he had expecting me to avoid it, so he was pleasantly surprised, he said he'd let the prosecutor know and get back to me as soon as a date was set.

They didn't waste any time in getting it set up, it was just three days later that I was on my way to the prison. I don't know if dreading is quite the right word for it, but I was definitely not looking forward to it.

Ryou and I had to wait in the meeting room for him to be brought to us. He arrived, flanked by two guards and wearing shackles on his ankles and wrists. We had been put in a meeting room because the normal visitation rooms weren't wheelchair accessible.

"Sorry Sir but we'll have to stay in the room for safety reasons." The guard's apologetic words were definitely not matched by his tone or expression, he sounded bored more than apologetic.

"Doesn't bother me."

"Tomoya-kun, I am glad you chose to come and see me." Smiled at me and spoke as though we had just met at a café or something.

"It wasn't much of a choice. What do you want?" He continued undeterred.

"And who is this lovely young lady?" Ryou's hostile glare, did make him pause for a moment. "You look like you are in good health."

"Apart from the wheelchair you mean. What do you want?" His shoulders sagged a little as the fact he wasn't going to get a conversation out of us.

"There is something I wanted to say to you."

"And."

"I am sorry, I failed as a farther and…"

"Are you kidding me!? All the crap you put me through, after everything you've done to me, and you're 'Sorry'!" My outburst managed to make the guards jump. My dad recoiled at my tirade. "You broke my shoulder, robbing me of a real chance at a career in pro basketball, and if that wasn't enough, I end up in a coma and you don't even notice FOR TEN DAYS!" Ryou placed a hand on my shoulder to try to calm me down. "What did you hope to get out of this meeting? Did you expect me to just forgive you?" He just lowered his head.

"I hope you can be happy… without me holding you back." His response was feeble, if it hadn't been so quiet in the meeting room, I probably wouldn't have heard him. Head still bowed he rose to his feet, one of the guards took hold of his arm while the other opened the door, with that they left.

"Come on Ryou, let's go home."

"Are you okay?"

"Honestly… I don't know. Either way, let's go." We headed back to the car park, where Hatsuo-san was waiting in the car.

"Well that was quick. So, how'd it go?" one look at our faces and he had his answer. "That good huh?"

"Worse, he actually said he's sorry."

"He what?"

"He said he was sorry and had failed as a farther."

"I think it was painfully obvious to anyone half a brain that he'd failed as a father, but 'Sorry'? The nerve of the man."

"Yeah, I was a little more _colourful_ in my response, but I think you got the gist of it."

"I'm sure it was, well if you need to talk about it, we're always there for you, but I suspect Ryou beat me to it on that one."

"Yeah, but thanks."

"Well at least you never have to see the him again, unless you want to go to the sentencing."

"Do you know when it is?"

"Next Monday."

"Well it would put a full stop on the whole affair wouldn't it. Alright I'll go."

"Good for you."

Ultimately the sentencing hearing was fairly short, what wasn't short was the sentence. For the charge of child abuse causing physical injury, he was given 9 years in prison, and a further 7 years for criminal neglect, a total of 16 years.

The prosecutor said it was unusually harsh, but it was probably because of the life altering injuries in both cases, so that was it, unless I chose to, I wouldn't see him again until I was in my thirties. What really surprised me was the level of relief I felt at that prospect, I had convinced myself that I didn't care either way, but maybe it was causing me more stress than expected.

It was only a couple of weeks after the sentencing that my exams were due, it was going to be a really, really busy period for me, especially as I was doing two years' worth of exams, but the most stressful thing for me, was going back to school for the first time since my fall.

I couldn't shake to idea that I was going to have 700 people, all staring at me. Despite not actually needing to be there for any exams, Ryou had insisted on being there with me.

In a turn of events that felt remarkably nostalgic I found myself at the foot of the hill, pausing to settle my nerves, it struck me that this must have been how Negisa had felt at the start of the year.

The school had been remarkably accommodating, I wasn't required to attend home room in the morning so I was at least spared the crowds of students that would have been around if we had to be on time, I'd have to deal with it eventually but I was more than happy to put it off a little longer. And for obvious reasons I was being allowed to use the service elevator to get between floors.

"Tomoya-kun? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, near enough anyway, just needed a moment, it's been a while since I was here, and the last time I was here… well you know." Ryou smiled sympathetically.

"I know, but we need to get going soon."

"A hard task master to the last. Okay let's go sensei." Ryou giggled as we set off.

"I really don't remember… this hill… being so long."

"Would you like a push?"

"I think you know the answer to that already."

"I know, you don't like being pushed, but I didn't want you to be too exhausted for your exams."

"I appreciate the thought, but we're nearly there anyway."

As I had expected, while I was waiting outside the exam room, I was very much the centre of attention. A few of my former classmates came over to talk, which was a welcome distraction from being stared at.

In the end I did end up, having words with one of the more persistent gawkers, it seems a large part of the reason I was being stared at was somewhere along the line a rumour had started that I had not survived my injuries. In all fairness I think I would have stared a bit myself if I saw a dead man show up for school.

The staring did die down quite a bit after the first couple of days, although not entirely, but the reduction in numbers did make it easier to "correct" the guilty parties.

The exams themselves weren't as bad as I expected them to be, so I was fairly confident that I would do okay, I didn't expect to break records, but as long as it let me get a decent job, I'm happy. It was no small relief when I finally finished my last exam, as I exited the room, I found Ryou waiting for me.

"Congratulations Tomoya-kun, all done at last. How do you think it went?"

"Thank you gorgeous, I think it went pretty well, math is my strongest subject anyway so I'm not worried. We just need to wait until February for the results now."

"Would you like to go out for lunch?"

"That's a great idea, let's get going before too many students beat us to it."

At the top of the hill an idea popped into my head.

"Hey Ryou, hop on." I patted my lap.

"What?"

"Come on it'll be fun, and quicker too." Ryou looked sceptical

"But everyone will be watching."

"They'll probably be watching anyway." Ryou was a little reluctant, but did give in, and took her place. "Alright hold on tight." She was roughly sitting sideways, with her arms around my shoulders.

As predicted, we did draw a lot attention, even more so when Ryou started to squeal when we got going a little too fast. The friction of using my hands on the wheels push bars proved too much before very long, so there was a point where I had to let go of the wheels all together so I could use the break levers, it was that point where we picked up a lot of speed. It was probably not a good idea, but it was fun, and we were both laughing pretty hard by the time we made it to the bottom.

"That was a lot of fun, but we probably shouldn't do it ever again."

"You're probably right, it felt like my hands were going to catch fire, maybe I should get thicker push gloves."

"Tomoya-kun, do you have any plans for Christmas?" Ryou sounded unusually shy for some unknown reason, she still blushes quite easily, but she has largely got over her shyness, when she's talking to me at least.

"I hadn't really given it much thought, why?"

"Don't you usually do anything for Christmas?" I got the feeling she was trying to hint at something.

"I usually just ignore it, I mean I'm not a Christian so there's no religious meaning to me, I hated to be anywhere near my dad, so no family events or anything and I've always been single so…" The penny finally dropped. "I'm really sorry, it didn't even cross my mind that it's kind of a couples thing. Like I said I've always been single in the past, so the romantic element was a bit lost on me. Was there anything you'd like to do?" Ryou giggled at my sudden realization.

"I don't really know, but it'd be nice to do something, this is our first Christmas together, so I wanted to do something a little more romantic than a family dinner."

"I know, how about I cook you some nice food, and we can have a nice romantic candle lit dinner." Ryou's eye lit up.

"That would be wonderful, thank you Tomoya-kun, but could we cook it together?"

"I don't see why not, but I want to do dessert myself, I'd like to be able to do something to surprise you with." Much to my surprise, and the dozen or so students near us, Ryou took my face in her hands and planted to kiss on me. When she released me, she noticed my surprised expression and her expression clearly said 'What?' Until she realised, we were being watched, at which point she turned a bright cherry red.

"I'm sorry, I got excited and didn't think."

"Hey, it doesn't bother me, it was just a surprise, that's all. You're not usually one for public displays of affection."

"I know, but I'm really looking forward to Christmas now."

"I never would have guessed. We should probably get going, before someone decides to report us for breaking the PDA rules." Ryou's eye's widened as she suddenly remembered that 'technically' as we were still in uniform, we could still be reprimanded for public displays of affection, it almost never actually happened, but it was probably best to be cautious.

"I had forgotten about that, we haven't been in uniform much for quite a while, so it just slipped my mind."

"Come on, let's go and see what yummy things we can come up with." Ryou's cooking had improved quite a lot since we started to learn together, she still had a habit of putting too much salt in, but she was improving. We had been forced to come up with some creative solutions, to make it easier for me to work in the kitchen, the counter tops were low enough for me to use, but cutting things up when your chopping board is at chest height is far from easy, so we'd come up with a cutting board that I could put on my lap, and it would sit level enough for me to work on. It worked well for moving hot dishes or oven trays around as well.

The problem in my case was that I could put something on my lap that was dangerously hot, and not feel my legs being burned, so I could end up doing a lot of damage and not know about it until the damage was done and I was at risk of a nasty infection. It's one of the less obvious problems that come with being paraplegic, honestly the first time it really sank in for me was when a knife got knocked off the counter top and cut my calf pretty deeply, I didn't notice a thing, it was only when Ryou turned round and saw I was bleeding that I was aware of it. So, if I do anything in the kitchen now, I wear thick jeans and leather shoes, just in case.

We spent nearly three hours going over all of the cookbooks we had and a few we borrowed off Kyou. Kyou had offered to cook the meal for us, but cooking had become one of our favourite things to do together, surprising given Ryou's cooking once left Botan catatonic for the better part of a day, and my experience cooking prior to my fall, consisted of instant noodles, so we politely declined.

We settled on chargrilled sea bass with chilli and lime, buttered leaks, roasted beetroot and fondant potatoes, far from healthy but oh so yummy. What I had in mind for dessert was a highly technical and risky choice, but I wanted to show her how much she meant to me.

I did my best to make it special, I laid the table as smartly as possible with a few tasteful Christmas themed decorations, two candles and some folded napkins. I'd found some instructions online, on how fancy restaurants do it and figured 'how hard can it be?' As it turns out, a lot harder than you'd think. It was all worth the effort in the end, Ryou was very impressed, and she was getting a little teary eyed, but that was because of the onions obviously, I didn't think it would have gone down too well if I had pointed out that we hadn't chopped any onions.

We had fun cooking the main course, and Ryou chatted away excitedly, it was the first time either of us had actually had a romantic partner at all, never mind having one at Christmas, so a few butterflies were to be expected. But it soon came time for my piece de resistance. I gave Ryou strict instructions to stay out of the kitchen, and not to peek.

"Good news, it actually worked." I rolled myself toward the table with my dessert still covered up, on the tray on my lap. Ryou was getting excited.

"Oooh, it smells fantastic, what is it? Let me see, let me seeee."

"Alright, alright calm down… Ta dah," I lifted the cover off the desserts. "I present you with, dark chocolate souffle with morello cherry sauce." They had puffed up perfectly, and looked perfect, even if I do say myself.

"Woooow, that looks amazing, but where's the sauce?"

"It's in the middle. Dig in you'll see." I had squirted a glob of the sauce into the middle of the mixture before I cooked it, leaving a pocket of warm cherry sauce in the centre of the souffle.

Ryou didn't need telling twice, and got stuck in, enjoying it far too much to stop long enough to actually talk. It didn't take long for her to polish it off.

"Mmmmm, that was really, really yummy. Thank you very much, I know souffles are supposed to be really tricky."

"It was a bit risky, but… you're worth it." I can't believe I actually managed to say something so corny and embarrassing. Ryou didn't seem to mind it being so corny, and she was getting a little teary eyed again. She got up from her seat across from me, came around to me, and planted a truly mind-blowing kiss on me, then hugged me.

"Thank you Tomoya-kun, I love you so much."

"You're very welcome, and I love you too." We moved to the sofa and cuddled up in front of a movie. We had been watching the film for about an hour, Ryou had been unusually quiet.

"Tomoya, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, since when do you need to ask?"

"Well, it's kind of a… big question."

"A_ big_ question huh, go ahead, ask away."

"Where do you expect to be in five years' time?"

"Honestly I haven't really got much of a clue, I mean until I know how I did in my exams, I don't really know what my options are going to be."

"I know, but what I really mean is… where do you think we are going to be in five years."

"I see what you're asking, where is our relationship going? Is that it?" Ryou nodded. I had given that particular subject a lot of thought, the way things were going, I kind of assumed that we'd get married before too long. But do I just come right out and say that? What if that's not what she's thinking? There's only one thing I can do really, try and be honest with her, deep breath and man up. "Well, I umm… It may be a bit presumptuous, but I don't know that I can imagine life without you, not that I'd actually want to, imagine that I mean."

'Tomoya, you're waffling, knock it off and get on with it.'

"Well what I mean to say is…" Here goes nothing. "I kind of figured that by then we'd be married, and maybe with a baby on the way. I mean, I don't mean to put any pressure on you, or, or make assumptions but…" Ryou interrupted my nervous prattle by kissing me more passionately than I can ever remember her kissing me before.

Once she pulled away, I was left feeling quite dazed. When you think about it, what I essentially just did, was tell her I wanted to marry her, and that I wanted kids. And her response to this was pretty clearly a yes.

Ryou was looking up at me with rosy cheeks, glistening eyes and a huge grin. Then a stray thought crossed my mind, 'did I just propose?' followed shortly after by 'Screw it, in for a penny, in for a pound.' Deep breath and.

"Fujibayashi Ryou, will you marry me?" miraculously I actually managed to get the words out. Ryou's eye's widened for a moment, in that moment the thought 'Oh crap, she doesn't want to.' Just about had time to form, but then it was equally quickly forgotten, when she lunged at me, kissing me even more passionately, she released me and wrapped her arms around me. "Yes! Yes please."

'I seriously can't believe that just happened'

Once we both calmed down a bit, Ryou resumed her previous position snuggled up next to me on the sofa, well, maybe a bit closer than before. The movie was more or less irrelevant at this point, neither one of us was paying much attention to it, I was still trying to get my head around the fact the I just got engaged, while Ryou, would occasionally look up at me, giggle and then look away again.

"I guess we should probably tell your parents."

"shall we go and do it now?" Ryou had an excited gleam in her eyes.

"If that's what you want to do, then I'm happy to do it now."

"Great, come on hurry up, let's go." Ryou was practically bouncing already.

"Alright, alright, cool your jets I'm coming."

As we entered the main house, Hatsuo-san greeted us with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

"Oh, hello you two, I didn't think I'd be seeing either of you tonight."

"Is mom around? There's something we want to tell you both." Ryou was still really excited, so it was probably pretty obvious what it was about.

"Really, wheat ever could it be?" Hatsuo-san replied in a flat and extremely sarcastic tone. "Come on, the other two are in the dining room."

Both Kyou and Kaori-san both looked pretty surprised to see us, that is until they noticed how excited Ryou was. Kaori-san was clearly trying her best not to laugh, while Kyou just gave me a wry smile.

"Tomoya-kun just proposed, we're getting married!" Ryou, couldn't contain her excitement any longer. Ryou's parents both looked at each other.

"Well, what do you think, shell we let them get married?" Hatsuo-san was clearly quite amused and couldn't resist the opportunity for a joke. He did have point though, technically we would both need their permission. Kaori-san batted him playfully on the arm.

"Oh, don't tease, they're obviously made for each other."

"True, I did figure it was going to happen sooner or later, it does seem a bit sudden though, you're not pregnant are you Ryou?" Both our faces instantly turned bright red. "I'll take that as a no, I'm just kidding, don't worry, I know Tomoya wouldn't do such a thing, Ryou on the other hand…" He received a napkin to the face for his trouble.

"Ignore him, congratulations you two." Kaori-san to the rescue. "Although it is true, we were pretty much expecting it to happen eventually."

"Yeah, congratulations guys, now aren't you glad I managed to persuade her to confess to you?"

"Yes, I am, thank you."

"Congratulations, had you got as far as thinking about a date yet?"

"No, we hadn't got that far yet, I just got so excited when Tomoya-kun asked me, I couldn't wait to tell someone."

"I do have some suggestions, you can do what suits you best, but I'd be a pretty bad father if I didn't butt in at least a little bit."

"Go right ahead and butt in, and you'd have to work pretty hard to be a worse father than mine, so I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"True, the low standard does make it easy to look like an awesome parent; So I was thinking that realistically there are two times that would be least disruptive to your studies, we should have time to get it organised for the July to August holidays, we'd be seriously pushing it to organise much before that, I guess you could get something simple ready before that but, I think you'd have to make big compromises to do it. Or you can wait until after graduation, any of the other holidays would either be too short for you to get any time off together before you go back to school and face the extra attention you'll get, or you'll be pretty busy studying. Like I said, it's advice, not an order, so take it or leave it."

"Thanks, it does make a lot of sense, we'll discuss it and let you know."

"Alright Tomoya, out with it, what made you decide to propose? You obviously hadn't planned it, or you'd have a ring already."

"Well, Ryou asked me where I thought we'd be in five years' time, and I had already been thinking that we'd get married eventually, and maybe start a family, by the time I'd said that much, it occurred to me that it was as good as saying I wanted to marry her anyway, so why wait."

"There's no rush to start a family you know, you're pretty young to be getting married for one thing, and more importantly, I am far too young to be a grandfather."

"Oh, don't worry I'm not in too big of a rush to start a family, and we're still in school anyway, so you don't need to worry just yet."

'Is it just me or did it sound a lot like she'd already decided we wouldn't be waiting until after we graduate?'

Ryou was apparently oblivious to her slip up, Kyou however was not, and she was looking at me while quivering with barely contained mirth.

"And there's university to consider too, so it could be a few years yet anyway." Kyou couldn't hold it in anymore, and burst out laughing, shortly followed by her Dad, Ryou's confusion just added fuel to the fire, and it was five or more minutes before they calmed down enough to speak. Kyou was holding her sides trying to compose herself, while Hatsuo-san managed to calm himself enough to speak first.

"It's very nice that you've given it so much thought sweetheart, but don't you think it's something that you might want to discuss with your fiancé first?" The shocked expression on Ryou's face set Kyou off again.

"Tomoya-kun, I, I didn't mean to…" I managed to stop her before she got herself upset.

"Ryou, it's fine, I was thinking the same thing anyway." Kaori-san sighed and smiled at us.

"Would you look at that, only just engaged and they're already thinking alike." The whole thing was a bit more chaotic than I had thought it would be, having said that, between Hatsuo-san and Kyou I should have expected no less, when it comes to Kyou and Hatsuo-san, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

"Well then, I think we should celebrate, I think I've got a bottle of champagne stashed somewhere." A moment later Hatsuo-san returned with the bottle of champagne and a bucket of ice-water.

"Should we really be drinking, I mean three of us are under twenty?"

"One glass won't do any harm, and you only get engaged once, or at least I certainly hope so."

"Are you sure' it's okay?" I had expected Ryou to protest, but she was more into the idea than I was.

"Come on Tomoya, you're not seriously trying to tell me you've never had alcohol?" Kyou had smelled blood and was going in for the kill.

"I've made mistakes in the past, but that was then, and this is now."

"I didn't actually expect an honest answer to that one."

"Tomoya-kun is a good man, he's done a lot to put his past mistakes behind him." Ryou practically glowed with pride.

"Yeah, you're lucky you got to him first."

'What?'

"I mean, there's plenty of other girls that were interested in him." Kyou was trying her best to back pedal and hide her slip up.

"Of course, there was, he's so handsome, kind, and gentle." Ryou had either missed Kyou's implication or had chosen to do so.

"It's very nice of you to say, but it's a bit on the embarrassing side too, so shall move on to something else. Like a bottle of champagne, for example." Hatsuo-san chuckled and reached for the bottle.

"I guess it's only fair that I embarrass you a little too, you are taking one of my little girls away after all. When Ryou came to us to ask us to help you, I didn't really know you that well, but Ryou spoke very highly of you, and I've tried to raise my daughters to be good judges of character, I had no reason to doubt her judgement, but you were dating one of my precious daughters, so I kept a close eye on you, for a while anyway, I soon saw the kind of man you are, despite everything you were going through, you still tried to put Ryou's needs first, when she'd let you that is. It was immediately obvious to even a blind man how much you care about Ryou.

You have always been, kind, respectful, remarkably resilient and most importantly forgiving. The mere fact that you were willing to forgive Kyou, after what happened, that blew away any trace of doubt I ever had." Kyou, hung her head and fidgeted with the napkin in her lap.

"Kyou, look at me." Kyou looked up but wouldn't make eye contact. "Kyou, it's all in the past so chin up, we're supposed to be celebrating."

"To get back to what I was saying…"

"You really don't have to you know."

"As I was saying, forgiving Kyou was amazing enough, but the fact you apologised to her, well that really blew my mind. So, I have no doubt you'll make a fine husband for Ryou."

"Okay, okay, you said your bit, can we move on now, seriously it's embarrassing."

"Don't I get a turn?" Kaori-san chipped in. Kyou and Hatsuo-san burst out laughing as soon as they saw the pained expression on my face.

"Alright, I guess we've embarrassed him enough, for now anyway." Hatsuo-san popped the cork and poured us all a glass of champagne. "To the happy couple."


	5. Chapter 5 – Celebrity

**Chapter 5 – Happy Returns**

In a surprise to absolutely nobody, Ryou didn't want to wait for another whole year, so we decided the wedding would be July 25th, just a few days into the summer holidays. Ryou was getting really excitable, she had been into town and bought a bunch of magazines and was now sitting at my dining table looking at dresses and cakes with Kyou.

"What I don't get is, why are you reading all this, at my dining table, when you won't let me see."

"You're not supposed to see the dress before the wedding day."

"Thank you, Kyou, I understand that, what I don't get, is why are you here, when I'm not allowed to see what you're doing, wouldn't it be better to do it in your own house rather than here?"

"Ah, there's one important reason to be here."

"And that is?"

"You make awesome coffee."

"But Ryou doesn't drink coffee."

"I know, quit complaining and put the coffee on." I learned long ago, that it's really not worth arguing with her on things like this.

"Fine, Ryou, would you like some tea?"

"Ooh yes please, thank you Tomoya-kun."

"You're welcome sweetheart."

"Am I not welcome then?"

"No." As bad as it sounds in principal, I was glad that Kyou and I had been able to get back to a point where we have a bit of banter like we used to.

"Oh, by the way, how did you get on with the souffles?"

"I thought Ryou would have told you by now."

"Not yet, she's too focused on the wedding now. So how did it work out?"

"Oh, they were wonderful, and the sauce in the middle was soooo, yummy too."

"In the middle?"

"I piped the cherry sauce into the middle of the souffle mix just before I baked them."

"That's actually a good idea, I'll have to try that myself."

"Tomoya-kun is actually a really good cook, you should try his pumpkin katsu."

"Really?"

"Hey! You really don't need to sound quite so surprised."

"Well, you used to live off instant noodles and anpan."

"I'll give you that much, but still."

"Have you had any thoughts about a best man?"

"I don't really have any guys I'm that close with, so I was just going to go without."

"That's a point, I've never seen you with any guys, apart from the blonde moron that is."

"Yeah, most guys my age are too focused on looking cool, and frankly I can't be bothered to deal with all that nonsense. Did you hear what he did?"

"Yeah, kind of wish I'd been there to see it. Have you heard anything from him, since…?"

"Since he left? No, not a peep, and the one letter I sent him came back with 'return to sender' on it. What are your plans after graduation?"

"I got a place at a catering school."

"Good for you, I always said you should have been a chef."

"It's not really what I wanted to do, but after, well… after what I did, no teaching schools will admit me, so plan B."

"I'm really sorry to hear that."

"What are you sorry for? It's my own fault, if I had just held my temper…"

"Look, between the two of us, we could bury ourselves in what if's and never move forwards, our past colours our future, but it doesn't need to control it."

"When did you get so philosophical?"

"It was something the therapist I saw at the hospital told me actually."

"Did it help, you know, to talk to someone about it like that?"

"To be honest Ryou was always there when I needed to talk something out, but the therapist did give me a lot to think about."

"Is that how you two got so close all of a sudden?"

"I guess so, I think that, going through something like that together showed us how much, we meant to each other and that we could always rely on each other."

"He cooks, he's handsome, philosophical and romantic too. You've got yourself a keeper here Ryou."

"Yes, I have."

"I think that's my cue to leave, there's only so much embarrassment a man can take, and I think I had quite enough last night, thank you very much. Do either of you need anything from town?"

"Are you going out? Can I come with you?"

"There's something I've been meaning to pick up, you stay here and look at dresses and things." Ryou looked a little disappointed but she sat back down. "I won't be long."

I had one very important thing to buy, and I wanted to surprise Ryou with it, I was on the hunt for an engagement ring. I didn't have a huge budget, but the Fujibayashi's were getting paid for fostering me, and they decided to pass that on to me, as they didn't need the extra, and it would allow me to be a little more independent.

The instant I entered the jewellery store, the assistant was there.

"Is there something I can help you find sir?"

"There is actually, I'm looking for an engagement ring."

"Did you have anything specific you were thinking of?"

"Yes, she really likes Tanzanite, so I was hoping to get something with that in."

"We have some very nice white gold rings that have a tanzanite setting over here." I had a choice of three rings with the Tanzanite in.

"I'll take that one, I think."

"An excellent choice sir, do you know what ring size she is?"

"No, but I borrowed a ring off her twin sister, I figured it should be pretty close."

"I assume they're identical twins?"

"Yes, they share jewellery and clothes all the time."

"Excellent, if it doesn't fit you can bring it back and get it resized. I'll be right back." The assistant disappeared out the back of the store, returning with a ring box in her hand. I handed over a large chunk of my savings, and headed home.

Ryou and Kyou were still at the table when I got back.

"That was quick, did you forget something?"

"No, I got what I wanted, but could I borrow your sister for a moment please?" Ryou didn't bother to wait for an answer, she came over and sat down on my lap.

"Wow, pretty bold Ryou."

"Well we are getting married after all."

"Could you give us a moment please Kyou?" Kyou opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it.

"Yeah, sure, I'll go and wait in the lounge. You two behave yourselves now, especially you Ryou."

"What did you want me for?"

"I went to get you something, and I wanted to give it to you in private." Ryou was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, I'd get down on one knee, but they both seem to be occupied at the moment." Ryou giggled. "I thought that if we're going to be engaged then you should have one of these." I pulled the jewellery box; from its hiding spot behind my back and held up the open box.

"You got me a ring!" Ryou squealed excitedly. "Is that Tanzanite?"

"Yes, I know you really like that pendant so I thought that it would be nice if it matched."

"It's beautiful, thank you. Is this silver."

"The woman in the store called it white gold."

"Can I put it on?"

"Of course, you can, it's an engagement ring, and we're engaged so I think you can put it on if you want." She slipped it on to her finger, gazing at it fondly. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.

"Hey, you're not married yet you know." Kyou threw a metaphorical bucket of cold water on us.

"Onee-chan, look what Tomoya-kun gave me."

"It's really pretty, is that the same stuff that's in your pendant? What was it called… Tarzanite was it?"

"Tanzanite, and yes, it's the same as the pendant I got her."

"It's funny, it feels so much more real now that I have a ring on my finger." Ryou was staring at her hand and fiddling with the ring.

"You're not going to get that grin off her face for days now, you know."

"I would hope not, I was thinking on the way back, do you think you'd be able to make the wedding cake?" Ryou's head popped up.

"That's a wonderful idea, can you?"

"Me? Make your wedding cake?"

"Yes, do you think you could do it? You're the best cook I know of." Kyou was speechless.

"You really want me to bake your wedding cake?"

"Yes."

"Yes, Onee-chan pleeease."

"Well… okay fine, but I want to do a practice cake beforehand, just in case, I wouldn't want to be responsible for spoiling your wedding."

"Damn, we'll have to eat a lot of lovely cake, how will we cope." Ryou got up from my lap and hugged her sister.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Go ahead and practice all you want; I don't mind being a taste tester."

"But I still need to fit in to a wedding dress, actually maybe I should try and lose a few pounds, I want to look my best…"

"You do not need to lose a single ounce, so no dieting. If I think you're on a diet, I'll just keep making chocolate souffles."

"But…"

"No buts, you look great just the way you are."

"Looks like the head of the household has spoken Ryou, a good wife always keeps her husband's preferences in mind, isn't that right Tomoya."

"I'm not sure I'd put it quite like that, but in all seriousness, I really don't want you to go trying to lose weight, you have a great figure just the way you are. Besides, remember when Kyou lost all that weight a while back, you didn't think it suited her did you."

"He's got you there Ryou."

"Alright, if you really feel that strongly about it, I won't go on a diet. But that doesn't mean you don't have to make those chocolate souffles."

"I'd like to try these miraculous souffles myself actually."

"Do you know how Negisa-chan is doing?"

"She's getting better, but she's still a bit weak, what made you ask?"

"I was just thinking it would be nice to tell her, about our engagement, you know cheer her up a little, but I can't get any further than the shop area in my chair, so if she isn't up and about yet Ryou would have to do it on her own."

"She was out of bed the other day so she should be able to come down to the shop, but I'm not so sure it'd cheer her up all that much."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm pretty sure she has a crush on Tomoya."

"I'd hoped I was wrong about that, but if you've noticed it too… it would probably be best to wait until she's a bit better before we tell her, just in case."

"I must admit, I'm surprised that you noticed."

"Well, any time Ryou shows any kind of affection to me when she's around, or if we talk about our relationship, she gets a kind of awkward, uncomfortable expression on her face for a moment. I had hoped she was just one of those people that doesn't like public displays of affection." Ryou sat down at the table, fidgeting with her new ring.

"I hope it doesn't upset her too much, I had hoped she would be a bride's maid."

"I'm sure she will be happy for the two of you, she will probably be a bit sad to begin with but, you know what she's like, she will be genuinely happy for you, just not quite right away. But you should probably hold off on telling her until she well enough to go back to school, she's still pretty fragile and any kind of upset could set her recovery back."

"Is she going to be okay to graduate? She's been off sick quite a lot already."

"I think her parents were going to talk to the school about it once school starts again."

"That doesn't sound too encouraging."

"No, I thought the same thing when Sanae-san told me. Anyway, that's enough gloominess, put some coffee on I'm gasping, and Ryou and I still need to find a dress."

"Seriously, kicked out of my own dining room twice in one day."

"Quit complaining, that coffee won't make itself." I figured I may as well get some Xbox time in while I had the chance, so having made coffee I left them to it. Three hours later I hadn't heard a peep out of them until, the pair of them scampered out the front door, with a magazine in hand. Half an hour later a very excitable Ryou reappeared.

"I take it you found something you like."

"Yes, we're going to go to the dress shop on Saturday after Onee-chan has finished school."

"Have you decided what I'm going to be wearing as well?"

"No, you get a say in that too, so I thought we could take a look at that together."

"As long as I don't look like a penguin I don't really mind." Ryou giggled and gave me a playful whack on the arm.

"I wouldn't do that to you, I'm sure you'll look very handsome and distinguished."

"There's only so much a suit can do, you know." She tried to scowl at me but couldn't keep a straight face for long.

"I'll get the magazines and show you what I was thinking of." Ryou sprang to her feet and practically bounced into the dining room to retrieve the magazines. We sat on the sofa and looked through the magazines and discussed what we liked and what we'd have to consider given I'd have to be able to push myself around, so it couldn't be anything too long, stuff like that.

Ryou pulled out a colour chart, apparently, we had to have a theme colour, it was news to me, frankly I assumed Ryou would be in white and beyond that, I had never considered it as a thing that needed to be decided. I tried to tell her that I didn't really mind, and she could have anything that she wanted, I even tried the "I'll be happy as long as she's there" line, but no, apparently she wanted me to be involved in everything.

The following Saturday, Ryou, Kyou and Kaori-san went off to the local wedding dress boutique, or whatever it's called. I found myself thinking, that the apartment felt kind of empty, I guess I was so used to Ryou being here every waking hour, that something felt off when she wasn't around.

Thankfully it was only about three hours before Ryou returned, she was more excited than I can ever remember seeing her and given how excitable she'd been since we got engaged, that was really saying something.

"Can I assume your shopping trip was fruitful?"

"Yes, it was. It's absolutely perfect. I can't wait for you to see it." She plopped down next to me on the sofa, wrapped her arms around me and gave a tight hug.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too. Your Dad came over while you were out."

"Did he want some of your coffee too?"

"He wanted to talk about, after the wedding."

"What do you mean, 'after the wedding'?"

"Things like, are you moving in here, or did we want to find our own place."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that, I guess I just figured we'd be living here."

"So, had I to be honest, it feels so much like home, the thought of leaving never crossed my mind."

"What did you tell Daddy?"

"Basically, what I just told you."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he was glad that I felt so at home, and that we were welcome to live here for as long as we want. I actually had to talk him in to letting us pay rent. And he'd only let us do that once we've both finished uni and at least one of us had a good job."

"I think he just wants to keep his 'Little girls' close by."

"Yeah, I kind of got that impression, do you think he'd let us buy it one day? I'd like to have somewhere we can call ours one day."

"I don't know, Mom said that they had considered renting it out, but they've never mentioned selling it."

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess we will probably want somewhere bigger one day."

"Bigger?"

"Yeah… you know, we'll probably need an extra bedroom eventually," Ryou looked just as confused. "Or maybe a nursery, if you follow me." The penny dropped.

"Of course, yes, I hadn't thought about needing more rooms. Maybe we could add an extra room on to here."

"Maybe, but that would mean we'd need to buy more land off your parents. Anyway, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves."

"I know, but it's nice thinking about the future, _our_ future." Ryou snuggled up to me an placed her head on my shoulder.

Ten days later, we got word that Negisa had been told that her attendance had gone below the minimum for graduation, she would have to repeat her third year again. She was feeling much better and would have been well enough to return to school in a week or so, making it feel a little cruel, that she was so close to making it, only to have it taken away from her.

Ryou really wanted to go and try and cheer her up, so we headed in the direction of the bakery, I wouldn't be able to go upstairs but I could see her down in the shop. As it turned out we ran into her and her Mom, on their way out for lunch, so we ended up all going to a nearby family restaurant.

"Tomoya-san, it is good to see you doing so well after your injury, and all of that terrible business with your father too."

"Thank you, Sanae-san, to be honest, I'm much happier since the 'accident' than I ever was before it."

"Negisa-chan said as much, but it is good to see it for myself."

"We were actually on our way to see Negisa-chan when we bumped into you." Negisa looked a little startled for some reason.

"Y-you were coming to see me?"

"Yes, Kyou told us about your bad news, and Ryou and I had hoped we could cheer you up a little."

"That's very kind of you Tomoya-kun." It struck me that she had missed Ryou off her thank you. If Ryou had noticed, she didn't let on.

"At least you will have some friends in school right from the beginning this time around." Negisa looked confused, I know she isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but I had already told her that both Ryou and myself would be repeating the year. "We're both repeating a year too."

"Oh, of course, you did tell me, I'm sorry it slipped my mind." Ryou reached out and placed her hand on top of Negisa's.

"Maybe we'll all be in the same class, wouldn't that be nice?" Negisa didn't answer, she was fixated on Ryou's hand. "Is something wrong Negisa-chan?"

"I-I-is t-t-that an e-e-engagement r-ring?" Of course, it had to be Ryou's left hand she had placed on Negisa's hand didn't it. Ryou looked at me with a slightly panicked look that said, "what should I do?"

"Yes, it is, we got engaged at Christmas, you were still so sick, that we didn't think any surprises would be good for you." Negisa smiled at us, but the smile never reached her eyes, they were definitely sad.

"C-congratulations."

"Yes, congratulations you two, I was very kind of you both to think of Negisa-chan's health, I'm sure you wanted to tell everyone right away, so thank you for being so thoughtful." Sanae-san looked at me pointedly as she spoke, she clearly knew exactly why we held off telling her and wanted us to know she was grateful. "Shall we order?"

"Of course, I'm getting pretty hungry." Negisa was understandably pretty quiet throughout lunch, she'd answer direct questions, and smile, but it was clear the smile was forced. Once we parted ways, Ryou's shoulders sagged.

"I'm sorry Tomoya-kun, I wasn't thinking, I should have been more careful. She looked really sad."

"It's not your fault, we were going to have to tell her eventually, and at least she had Sanae-san with her."

"I know, but I still feel a bit guilty."

"Listen, we have nothing to feel guilty about, you fell in love with me and I fell in love with you, what about that should we feel guilty about? Negisa-chan missed her chance at a relationship with me, but nothing about that is your fault, if she'd been a bit braver, then maybe things would be different, but she wasn't."

"I understand, but I still feel sad for her."

"That's because you're a kind and compassionate woman, she'll be sad for a while yes, but she'll bounce back, and she'll be genuinely happy for us in time, we just need to give her a little space for now."

"I hope you're right."

"How about we have Kotomi-chan over for dinner, now that Negisa-chan knows, we don't have to worry about her accidentally letting it slip."

"That would be really nice, I've been itching to tell her."

"I know you have, but we both know how adept she is at putting her foot in her mouth."

"Do you mind if I ask Onee-chan if she'd like to join us?"

"Not at all, the more the merrier. I could make the chocolate souffles again if you like, Kyou's been bugging me about trying them, and Kotomi-chan is a bit of a foodie too, so it should go over well." Ryou's eyes lit up.

"Yes please."

"Alright then, let's go home and dig through the cookbooks, and see what we can make for dinner."

We spent the better part of an hour trying to decide what we should do for dinner, in the end me settled on Shabu-shabu, it's warming, satisfying and it's great for sitting around a table with friends and chatting while you eat.

Kotomi arrived at exactly the time we said for her to arrive, I always wondered if she actually got here perfectly on time every time, or did she wait outside and only knock on the door when the time was right. Frankly either one could be true knowing her. Ironically Kyou managed to be ten minutes late despite only having to come from about fifty feet away.

We all sat at the table, with a nice hot pot of broth in the middle, Kyou was practically drooling at the smell.

"I bet you never thought that you'd be this excited to eat Ryou's cooking did you." Ryou gave me playful bat on the shoulder.

"Well you're not wrong, after all the time I spent trying to teach her to cook, never getting anywhere. Then you come along and in a few months she practically a gourmet chef."

"Maybe it was more to do with the teacher than the student."

"Hey, I did my best with what I had to work with."

"Perhaps Ryou-chan's romantic connection to Tomoya-kun provided a significant increase to Ryou-chan's motivation." I'll admit I didn't expect to hear something that insightful from Kotomi, especially when it comes to anything to do with romance.

"Tomoya-kun is always very encouraging, so I never felt so bad when I made a mistake."

"Maybe that's the only difference, Kyou's approach to things is usually more stick than carrot."

"Hey, I use the carrot plenty." Kotomi was starting to look a little confused.

"I'm not saying that your teaching style is wrong, far from it, but different people learn in different ways, your approach could well work better with some people than mine, it's just a matter of working out what works best."

"May I ask what the meaning of stick or carrot is in this context is?"

"It's a reference to methods of training animals like horses, the carrot is used as a reward for doing something correctly and the stick is a punishment for poor performance, it's just a metaphor, Kyou isn't actually going to use a stick on anyone."

"Oh, I see." I'm not convinced she gets it but it's best to move on from these things with Kotomi, or you end up in a conversation loop.

"Kotomi-chan there is a reason Ryou and I invited you to come for dinner, there's something we'd like to tell you."

"Look what Tomoya-kun gave me." Ryou proudly offered her left hand to Kotomi.

"It is a very wonderful ring…" Wait for it. "Oh!" There we are. "Does not the placement of a ring on that finger usually represent engagement or marriage?" So close, and yet so far.

"Yes Kotomi-chan, that is what it means."

"Just tell her outright, or we'll be here all night."

"Tomoya-kun and I are engaged to be married." Ryou glowed with pride as she informed our friend.

"Oh! Congratulations, that is wonderful news." Kotomi held her hands over her heart and smiled, clearly very happy for us, for a moment at least. Then fear showed in her eyes and her bottom lip trembled. "Y-you aren't going to take him, away are you? He is all I have left."

"It's alright Kotomi-chan, we're not going anywhere. Even if we ever do have to move, we won't abandon you, you are a very important friend to both of us." I reached over and placed my hand on her shoulder while Ryou took her hand. The tension in her shoulders melted away, and the smile returned to her face.

Ryou and I had talked about Kotomi's attachment to me not long after we started going out, Ryou had been concerned that Kotomi was romantically interested in me, it's a valid concern really, Kotomi can be quite clingy, if she gets scared she'll always grab onto my arm and hide behind me, but I don't know if I really believe Kotomi is capable of romantic love yet.

The death of her parents and all the time she has spent alone had severely held back her emotional development, I think she sees me as a link to her parents because I'm the only person she knows that knew her when her parents were alive, and by clinging to that relationship is like clinging to the last little part of her parents. She still behaves the same towards me as she did when we were kids playing in her back yard, I've never seen any evidence of any romantic feelings whatsoever. I'm her friend and she can trust me, that's as far as it goes.

Once she settled down a bit, she hugged us both.

"Congratulations Tomoya-kun, Ryou-chan, it is very wonderful news."

"Thank you Kotomi-chan, now shall we eat before Kyou drools too much."

"Hey, I am not drooling." She did still wipe her mouth, just in case.

We enjoyed a comfortable meal, the girls chattered away excitably about wedding plans.

The following week we sent Kyou on a recognisance mission, to see how Negisa was doing. The result of her expedition was that we should probably wait a little longer. Ryou didn't want to have to leave it too much longer as she wanted Negisa to be a bridesmaid, but if she was still upset from hearing about our engagement, then asking her to take part in the wedding was probably a bit insensitive.

The following Saturday Ryou, her parents and myself were going to see a few possible venues for the reception, and a couple of local churches, neither of us is especially religious, but Ryou had her heart set on a westernised wedding so a church seemed more appropriate than a Shinto temple, although she liked the Shinto vows. If I had to guess I figure that she has seen a bunch of weddings in the movies and decided that was what she wanted.

The first of the churches was a bust, there were too many steps along the way, so we'd end up needing three different ramps for me to be able to get to the front. The second was pretty much ideal, ramps already built in at the front of the building and it was level from there on. The priest was a Pastor Ashton, he was a little eccentric, but nice enough.

We went to three possible reception venues, the first wasn't accessible, the second was accessible but we didn't really like it, we decided to keep it in mind, just in case we were struggling to find anywhere else. The third was less than ideal when it came to accessibility, but we could make it work if we had to, it was pretty nice inside, but the access was an issue, but it was good enough to make the short list. On Sunday we went around a few more, but we still couldn't find anything that was both accessible and one we liked the look of. We had added two more to the short list of acceptable compromises, but compromising isn't something to do for your wedding if you don't absolutely have to. It was more of the same the following week and Ryou was starting to get a little frustrated and generally fed up.

The week after that we finally caught a break, a hotel we had looked at, but they were booked up for the date we wanted called to tell us they had a cancelation for the right date, and did we want to book it. Being a pretty modern hotel, the access wasn't an issue, it wasn't the function suite we had originally wanted, but it was still pretty nice, just a bit bigger than we needed. Given the trouble we were having finding anywhere we booked it immediately.

"Okay, so we have a church and reception venue, Kyou is doing the cake, you've got a dress and I've got a suit or whatever you call it, the rings are sorted, we've done the guest list and the gift list. What are we missing?"

"Umm catering, photographer… umm… oh! Limousine."

"Hmm… how are we going to work the limo?"

"Oh, I had been thinking about that, if you get yourself in to the back, the chauffeur can put your chair in the trunk."

"Yeah that should work."

"Daddy said you knew a good limousine service we can use."

"Okay great, so that leaves the catering and photographer, can the hotel do the catering?"

"No, they said they're booked up for catering, I found a few adverts in the back of a magazine that are local."

"Shall we give a few a call then?"

Insert marathon phone call session. I genuinely dread to think how much just the phone bill for organising a wedding adds up to, that said the rest of it isn't exactly cheap either. Ryou's parents insisted that the cost wasn't an issue, but I couldn't help feeling a bit odd spending a vast quantity, of someone else's money. The caterer surprised me when they offered to come to us, they even brought samples with them so we could choose a menu. Kyou insisted that we needed her as a consultant.

The photographer came to us as well, he even offered us a discount if he could use some of our pictures in his promotional material, I guess it works out cheaper than paying a model. So, by the end of January we had everything booked. It was definitely a relief to have all of the frantic organising behind us. Just five and a half months to go.

The end of February finally arrived and so did my exam results, for the most part it wasn't anything exceptional, a massive improvement on what I got last time but that's not exactly saying a lot. The surprise for me at least, (Ryou insisted she saw it coming.) was my math result, it was the only A I got the rest was mostly C's with the odd B thrown in for good measure.

The following months drifted by, the only important thing that happened was that Negisa turned up with an engagement gift, she did seem genuinely pleased for us, which was a big relief, especially for Ryou, Negisa was pleased and a little surprised to be asked to be a bridesmaid, she doesn't have much in the way of self-esteem so being asked to play an important role in someone's wedding made her a little emotional. Most of all it was good to have her back to her old self again.

Before we knew it was the end of May and we were getting ready to return to school for the first time in what felt like an eternity, quite a lot had happened since we'd been to school for an actual lesson. I was really nervous, I had for the most part got used to the stares while I was out and about, but school is a different beast, it's enclosed, crowded and feeds off gossip and being different is a cardinal sin. The school had been considerate enough to put Negisa in our class, so the three of us would be able to support each other. Negisa was being very self-conscious because she was having to take a third attempt at finishing her third year.

On our first day Negisa came to the apartment so we could all walk to school together. As predicted, we were drawing a great deal of attention.

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but the staring is really getting on my nerves."

"I know, it does Tomoya-kun, but they will get bored of it soon enough." Ryou's voice was enough to sooth my mind. She was right of course; I'd just have to stick it out for a few days.

"I still don't see what's so interesting about a guy in a wheelchair."

"Well, you don't see many people in a wheelchair in this town really do you." At a guess I'd say Negisa was trying to be supportive but didn't quite manage it.

"Well, we may as well make a move, we can't just sit at the bottom of the hill all day can we."

We made our way up the hill with our audience still fixated on us, or rather me. We were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Ah, Tomoya, it's good to see you, it's been quite a while hasn't it." I could almost feel Ryou bristle at Tomoyo not using an honorific.

"Good morning Tomoyo-san, I don't think I've seen you since my little accident, you remember Ryou and Negisa-chan don't you?" Ryou placed her hand on the back of my neck, marking her territory.

"Of course, it's Fujibayashi isn't it?"

"That's right, for now at least." Subtle Ryou, subtle.

"Excuse me?"

"When we come back after the July holiday it will be Okazaki Ryou instead." Tomoyo's eyes nearly popped out of her head, and anybody that was in earshot froze on the spot.

"Really?"

"Yes, Tomoya-kun and I are getting married on the 25th of July." We were beginning to draw a crowd, Tomoyo blinked in surprise, but recovered quickly.

"Well then, congratulations are in order."

"Thank you, Tomoyo-san, but we'd better get going, we wouldn't want to be late for our first day back." I decided it would be best to end to show before we ended up with the entire school standing around us.

On our way into the school we had to pass the site of my accident, I couldn't help but look up at where I fell from.

"Geeze, it's a pretty long way up…" I winced as an image of Ryou desperately reaching out to me flashed into my mind.

"Tomoya-kun, are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm okay, I think… I just got an image of you reaching for my arm." Ryou knelt down next to me.

"Are you sure you're okay, I'm sure the school would understand if you need to go home."

"I'll be alright, but thank you, it just threw me off for a moment… let's keep moving or we really will be late."

"As long as you're sure, just let me know if you change your mind."

"I will, thank you."

When we entered our new classroom, the chatter that had been present, instantly stopped. As much as I really wanted to shout at them, I decided it probably wasn't the best idea.

"Good morning everyone." Doing my best to hide my irritation I headed to the back of the class where my desk was, being the only one without a chair, it was obvious that it was where I was supposed to be. Ryou sat down at the desk to my right, and Negisa sat on my left.

"Good morning Okazaki-san, it is good to see you back in school. I don't know if you will remember me, but we met last year."

"Ah yes that's right, you were the one who lent Kotomi-chan the violin weren't you, Nishina wasn't it?"

"That's right, Nishina Rae."

"It's nice to meet you again Nishina-san, I can't remember if you met or not, but this is my better half Fujibayashi Ryou, and I'm sure you remember Furukawa Negisa."

"I don't think we met, but I remember hearing that you had a girlfriend before… well before, it is nice to meet you Fujibayashi-san. It is good to see you in good health again Furukawa-san."

"Thank you, Nishina-san, it is nice to meet you too." Nishina bowed slightly and returned to her seat. Shortly after the teacher arrived, as it turned out it was the same teacher, we had last year.

"Good morning class, ah Tomoya-san you managed to make it in on time for once."

"Yes sensei, Ryou here is keeping me in line." He chuckled a little at my reply.

"I'm sure she is, if you need anything let me know."

"I will, thank you sensei."

The rest of the morning went without incident, by the time lunch time arrived I was ravenous.

"Where do you fancy going to eat our lunch?" Ryou had made us both a bento box for lunch, and Negisa had brought some lunch with her as well.

"We could go out to the courtyard, like we used to."

"Is that alright with you Negisa-chan?"

"I don't really mind."

"Courtyard it is then." By the time we arrived the it was already pretty busy. Our entrance did not go unnoticed, and a great many of the onlookers were whispering, out of the corner of my eye I saw a girl point our way, then say something to her friends, both of her friends looked shocked and then looked at us too. Apparently, the news of our engagement was spreading pretty fast.

There was a group of girls that were talking and periodically glancing at us, after a few minutes of this, one of the girls broke off from the group, and headed our way, looking a bit nervous.

"Umm, Ryou-chan…" She was one of Ryou's regulars from her fortune telling sessions.

"Harumi-chan, it's good to see you again. I'm afraid I'm not going to be doing any fortune telling anymore."

"It's good to see you too, I wanted to ask, umm, about the rumours. Are they true?"

"That would depend on the rumour, Ryou and I have been a bit out of the loop lately."

"Oh, umm yes, of course, well people are saying that you are getting married soon."

"In that case, yes the rumour is true, Tomoya-kun and I are getting married at the start of the July holidays." Ryou proudly made her announcement, loud enough that the people around us could hear it too. Harumi had obviously assumed that it wasn't true, granted it is very, very rare for people our age to get married. I had to wonder what other assumptions were being made, based on the fact we're getting married so soon and so young. Harumi looked startled for a moment, but quickly smiled.

"Congratulations, Ryou-chan, Okazaki-san, that's wonderful news." Her happiness for us seemed genuine enough. She turned to her friends and waved them over. It took all of thirty seconds for us to be surrounded by a crowd of grinning girls.

"Ladies, it's very nice that you're all so happy for us, but would you mind giving me a little more breathing room, it's a little claustrophobic with so many people so close." They all apologised and took a step back. It's funny really, I never used to have a problem with crowds before, but then again, I'm pretty tall so I tended to be above everyone else, but now my head is at about stomach level.

We didn't get a lot of time to ourselves that lunch break, right after one group left, another group turned up. In the end we took it in turns to talk, so the other could get something to eat. I began to wonder if Ryou's arm was starting to get tired, with all the time she spent holding out her hand so people could see her engagement ring. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when we were asked if there was a reason we were getting married so soon.

The atmosphere around us was a little different now, we were still being watched constantly, but the majority of the on lookers were now grinning at us. I did see a few guys giving me a death glare, but I didn't care. I did feel a little sorry for Negisa though, she's shy at the best of times, and she'd suddenly found herself in the middle of a mob of giggling girls.

All in all it was a surreal experience, I had expected to get a fair bit of attention, but this was on a whole other level, we couldn't go anywhere without, being talked to, or about, it was getting a little annoying really, but hopefully it would all blow over soon. Then again, it would probably die down just in time for us to get married and kick it all off again. I did get a few of them asking how I was doing, and the would be happy to help if I needed anything, but Ryou's glares were fairly effective at changing the subject, I had never expected her to be the jealous type, although it is a little tactless to talk about how romantic our engagement is, and then basically flirt with me within earshot of my fiancée.

We drew a lot of "aww" sounds from almost every group of girls, and one group of guys surprisingly enough. Ryou had developed a habit of leaving her hand on my shoulder as we "walked" around, since we couldn't really hold hands as we used to, it was a nice compromise, and according to a large number of girls and the occasional guy, it was adorable too.

Quite a few of Ryou's old fortune telling clients returned for a reading, but Ryou turned them away saying it wasn't something she was comfortable doing anymore. I did wonder if they'd understand if she told them why she didn't want to do it anymore, but Ryou said it was too personal to share.

By the end of the first week, it felt like Ryou and I had spoken to every girl in the school, and quite a few of the guys had come and asked me if it was true, although the guys weren't generally as happy for us, it seems Ryou had quite a fan club last year, some of them had graduated but the majority were in the year below and now being in the same year, had seen it as their chance make a move, until the rumours started up anyway. It had all been quite exhausting, but the fact we had already spoken to anyone who was interested and squashed the potential for any weird rumours springing up early on, by confirming directly that we didn't need to get married quickly, we just didn't want to wait any longer, would hopefully make for a more peaceful second week.

The following week we were largely left in peace to eat our lunch, aside from occasional visitor that hadn't been in with all the groups the previous week, we were still very much the centre of attention, but we weren't mobbed as much, just watched quite a lot. It was a pity that we couldn't retreat to the old theatre club room but the old school building didn't have a lift, so I was limited to the ground level, and there was no way in hell I was going near the madness that was the cafeteria.

Mostly things returned to normal, well normal-ish anyway, after the first couple of weeks, we still got a lot of attention from the girls, but it wasn't too annoying. The last week before the July holidays the number of well-wishers increased quite a lot, predictable really but still annoying, we were tense enough with the stress and excitement of the impending wedding, so the extra attention and excitable girls really didn't help. We decided that we were best off staying in the classroom over lunch, to try and limit how many visitors we'd get, it did reduce the attention we got a little, until the last day of term that is. That day was a bit ridiculous, any time either of us showed our faces we were immediately surrounded by people all asking the same question "So, are you excited?" sort of a daft question really. I was beginning to be very glad we hadn't told anyone which church we were getting married at.

We had a couple of days left to go and it finally occurred to me that all of the parental figures were involved with Ryou's side of things, so I would end up going to the church and waiting at the front all by myself. I was a bit at a loss, but Negisa-chan suggested that her Dad would probably help out if I wanted, I was a little hesitant, Negisa-chan's parents were good people and I got on well with them but they could be a bit eccentric, with no other options and no time either we decided to ask.

As expected, he was more than happy to help, what I hadn't expected was that he was quite calm, none of his usual manic raving, he was actually somewhat normal, I hadn't thought him capable of it.

"Sure thing kid, I can do that for you, you guys have been really good friends to Negisa, so I figure I owe you a favour or two. Did you need me to give a speech or anything?"

"Oh, right, thanks, umm I don't know really, if you really want to give a speech I don't mind, as long as it's not too embarrassing."

"If you don't mind, I'll take the opportunity, relax, I don't really know anything that embarrassing about you anyway."

"Yeah, sure. I really appreciate you helping out at such short notice."

"Like I said you two have been really good to Negisa, like giving her time to get better before telling her about your engagement, I figure you know why it would have been bad if you hadn't waited."

"Yeah, we had a fair idea. I like Negisa-chan, but…"

"No need to apologise, the heart choses who you fall in love with, and from what I'm told, whoever you ended up with, someone would have been hurt."

"I've been told as much, but I can't say I saw it at the time. But the way people reacted to being told we were engaged was quite revealing."

"Mmm, I'm sure it was. Anyway, where and when do you need me?"

"If you could come here, and the wedding is at 11:30, so how does 10am sound to you."

"That should work, if you decide you need me earlier, then just let me know and I'll be right over. Do you need anything else or have Ryou-chan's folks got you covered?"

"I think we're covered for now, but I'll let you know if that changes."

"Alright then, I'll see you on the day then."

"You were very quiet."

"Sorry, but he was so… different."

"I thought the same thing myself."

"What did you mean about peoples' reaction to our engagement being revealing?"

"Oh, I figured you knew what I meant with the way you reacted to Tomoyo-san."

"I just didn't like her not using an honorific, it was inappropriate."

"I just figured you knew with the way you shot her down so hard."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There was no reason to bring up our engagement in the way you did. It seemed a lot more like staking your claim rather than sharing good news. Not that I'm complaining mind you, it was kind of adorable. And then there was those girls you chased off at lunch time."

"Chased off?"

"Are you saying you didn't realise you did it?" Ryou just nodded. "Well they were being a bit flirtatious, then you glared at them, and then they made their excuses and left."

"I didn't notice I did it…" Ryou look really perplexed. It was really quite cute.

"Well, in a couple of days I'll have a ring to tell everybody that I'm taken."

"Yeah, all mine." Ryou wrapped her arms around my arm and rested her head on my shoulder with a big smile on her face.

The morning of the wedding arrived, I was about as nervous as you'd expect me to be, it was made all the worse because of Ryou's unusual absence from the apartment. But Akio-san was very early, like two hours early. He managed to keep me occupied and distracted, mostly by playing on the Xbox, I'm often convinced that he's actually a child pretending to be an adult.

"Come on kid, I can't sit around kicking your butt all day. Get your suit on we need to go soon."

"Yeah."

"Relax, it a wedding not a firing squad, you look like you're about to throw up."

"No, I'm good, thanks.

"Do you want to try telling your face that? Deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth." The breathing thing was far more effective than I had expected it to be. At least until I got as far as the church. It seems that a large number of the students from our school had found out where the wedding was being held and invited themselves. Technically it's a public service so we didn't really have any way to get rid of them. Our quiet intimate wedding was now the social event of the season.


	6. Chapter 6 – Home 2

**Chapter 6 – Home 2**

"I've got to say; I didn't realise you were quite this popular kid."

"Me neither… I might throw up after all."

"Go for it, as long as it doesn't get on your suit. I guess there's no chance we're getting you in there unnoticed is there?"

"Nope, the main entrance is the only one with a ramp."

"I'll try and keep them out of the way' so you've got a clear run at the ramp. Damn I knew I should have brought my baseball bat."

"Oh well, let's get it over with."

Akio-san's shout to "Move it or lose it" worked wonders for crowd control. Everyone we had invited had already had seats marked out as reserved, otherwise the church was full to capacity. I had thought the crowd outside was the entirety of the uninvited mob, but it was just the ones that hadn't been able to fit in the church.

"Is the whole school here?"

"It does kind of look that way, but at a guess I'd say a hundred at most, looks like a lot more but that's just how crowds are."

"I'm a little worried about the bridesmaids now, Kotomi-chan isn't too good with crowds, and well you know how Negisa-chan can be." It was then that I saw a head of silver hair in the seats towards the front. "We might be in luck. Tomoyo-san, I'm glad you're here."

"If you're that glad to see me, why didn't I get an invite?"

"We were planning on it being nice and small, but…"

"Yeah, didn't quite work out that way did it."

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I need someone on crowd control outside for when the girls get here, Kotomi-chan and Negisa-chan aren't too good with crowds and I don't want Ryou being too stressed out. I'll make sure you've got a seat in here, but I really need someone I can rely on out there."

"Alright then, crowd control it is."

"Thanks, I owe you one, when you come back in just head to the second row, it's all been reserved so you'll have room there, and we should have room for you at the reception if you'd like to come."

"Really? Thanks, I'd be grateful of a chance to congratulate your wife, so I'll take you up on the invite."

"Your welcome, just stick by Akio-san, he'll make sure you get there." She gave me a thumbs up and marched off outside.

"Is she seriously going to be able to control that lot all by herself?"

"Oh yeah, I have no doubt about that." Pastor Ashton greeted me as I got to the front.

"Given you said you wanted small and intimate, I'd hate to see a big wedding. I don't think I've ever seen this place so full."

"For some unknow reason it seems Ryou and I have turned into some sort of celebrities at school, and they've all invited themselves."

"I can try asking them to leave if you like but I'm not sure how much good it'd do."

"No there's no sense in causing a fuss now, they'll be here any minute now."

"You're the boss, do you have everything?"

"Yes, thank you." There was a brief sound like a scuffle outside, Pastor Ashton peered out through the doors.

"Looks like your betrothed is early, she's eager isn't she. Let's get this show on the road shall we." The wedding march started and a few moments later in walked Ryou and her father, with the bridesmaids trailing behind. Ryou looked genuinely stunning, her dress was more form fitting that I'd imagined it to be, it had an unusual pattern of folds and pleats that almost made it look like it was wrapped around her, there were a few glittering diamond like stones scattered here and there, making her almost twinkle as she walked. Her veil was thin so I could still clearly see rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes.

Ryou arrived at the front and her father place her hand in mine and stepped off to the side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here today to bear witness, as these two people declare their love for each other and swear themselves to the other for the rest of their lives.

If anyone here, knows of a reason they may not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." For the first time since I arrived at the church, it was silent.

"Tomoya-san and Ryou-san have chosen vows based on the traditional Japanese vows."

"Okazaki Tomoya, repeat after me; This woman, I marry…"

"This woman, I marry. In good health or in bad. I will love this person. Respect this person. Console this person. Help this person. Until death, remain faithful. This I swear."

"Fujibayashi Ryou, repeat after me; This man I marry…"

"This man, I marry. In good health or in bad. I will love this person. Respect this person. Console this person. Help this person. Until death, remain faithful. This I swear."

"Okazaki Tomoya, you marry this woman and become her partner. Will you in peaceful times, during sickness, love her, respect her, comfort her, help her, until death, do you promise to fulfil this vow?"

"Yes, I promise." I gently slipped her ring onto her trembling finger.

"Fujibayashi Ryou, you marry this man and become his partner. Will you in peaceful times, during sickness, love him, respect him, comfort her, help him, until death do you promise to fulfil this vow?"

"Yes, I promise." Ryou slid my ring on to my finger.

"By the authority vested in me I declare you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride."

Ryou leaned forward and we kissed, as the congregation cheered "Kampai!" We didn't have any sake but then again 90% of the people here weren't old enough to drink anyway. Pastor Ashton led us into a room at the back of the church to sign some paperwork.

Ryou was a little giggly at having to sign her name as Okazaki Ryou for the first time. With the paperwork signed, we had a brief moment to catch our breath.

"Ryou, you look stunning."

"Thank you, you look very handsome yourself."

"So much for small and quiet, I've got to wonder how they found out where and when we were getting married."

"It makes it seem grander and exciting I suppose, did you ask Tomoyo-san to help outside?"

"With all the people out by the front door I was a little worried that they'd cause problems when you got here, so when I spotted her in the church, I figured she could handle it. Did you have any problems?"

"No, Tomoyo-san had it all in hand when I got here."

"I didn't think you'd mind but I invited her to the reception."

"I was going to suggest that too, after all she was really helpful out there."

"So, Okazaki-chan, shall we go and face the music?" Ryou giggled and stood up.

"That's going to take a little getting used to. I think Tomoyo-san may have her work cut out for her as we get outside."

"I'm sure she will, okay, let's go." Pastor Ashton headed out just before us, so he could announce us, I wasn't quite she what that meant, but he's American so it could be a western custom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for Mr and Mrs Okazaki." It was a western form of naming, but it did have a nice ring to it. We stepped out of the office, and a wave of cheers practically hit us, a round of applause followed and continued for the entire time we were heading down the aisle, we had setup some music for our exit but it was almost drowned out entirely by the sheer number of people there. We stepped out into the sunlight and I just had time to see Tomoyo-san giving a disturbingly fierce glare to rows of people either side of the ramp, after that we were briefly lost in a cloud of confetti and rice. After the initial barrage, the confetti stayed at a more manageable level, with occasional puffs appearing from one side or the other. With the worst of the excitement passed Tomoyo-san turned towards us and threw her own hand full of confetti and joined the applause as we reached the limo. Once inside the sanctuary of the limo we could finally relax, the reception was a private function and hotel security could remove anyone who wasn't invited, so it would be a lot calmer from here on.

"Well, that was interesting."

"I think I'm going to be picking confetti out of my hair for a week." Ryou flicked some of the confetti out of her hair, then wrapped her arm around mine and kissed me on the cheek. "It doesn't quite feel real just yet does it."

"Yeah, but I'm sure we'll get used to it soon enough."

"You get off easy, I've got to try and remember to sign my name as Okazaki."

"Maybe you could, sign it a bunch of times on some scrap paper, but all that can wait, all we've got to do for now, is enjoy our reception, with our friends."

When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by the concierge, with two glasses of champagne, alcohol free obviously but it still made it feel special. We were led into a suite that had been set aside for us to relax in while our guests arrived.

"Mmm, alone at last." Ryou sat down next to me and gave me a kiss that left me feeling lightheaded. Ryou sighed and snuggled up to me while we waited for our guests.

Our peaceful break didn't last though, and we were soon called to the reception room. The cheering and applause were much tamer this time around, we had about an hour to mingle and give the speeches before the buffet would be laid out. We made a point to seek out Ryou's parents first off.

"Well if it isn't Okazakis, congratulations you two."

"Thank you, Kaori-san."

"I hadn't realised you had become so popular; every man and his dog were at the church." Hatsuo-san reached out to shake my hand. "Congratulations, you're officially our son in-law now."

"Thank you, we got a lot of attention the first few weeks back at school, but I thought it had mostly blown over. As for being your son in-law it hadn't occurred to me yet, but I guess it's true."

"I'd say you've got more important things to think about today, by the way did you see the photographer from the local paper as you left the church?"

"Really? I couldn't see too much, between all that confetti and being so low down. Why would the paper be at our wedding?"

"From what he told me, they've been keeping an eye on you since your accident and all that business with your dad, and then with all the fuss you've been getting at school, they found out about the wedding and well the rest goes without saying really."

"I guess, but it still seems a bit weird, all this nonsense because I had an accident and a crap dad."

"I think part of it is about hope really."

"You've lost me."

"Well people can look at what happened to you, and where you are now, and think that if you can go through all that you have and still end up happy, maybe they can too."

"I suppose you're right, at the very least it'll be an interesting story to tell our kids one day."

"There's no rush for that though, I'm still far too young to be a grandfather."

"We know that, thank you Daddy, Tomoya and I should probably mingle a bit, there's a few people I want to thank."

"Look at that, married for an hour and already she's dropped the honorific." I'll admit it was a bit unexpected, but I had planned on telling her to drop it anyway. I guess it was her way of trying to get her head around the fact that we were actually married.

As we wandered the function room talking to friends here and there, I watched Ryou as she spoke to one of her friends, she looked so elegant and poised, I couldn't wait to see the photos.

I spotted Tomoyo-san hanging out with Negisa-chan and her parents and decided we should head over and thank them.

"Tomoyo-san, Akio-san, thank you for stepping in at such late notice, we're both really grateful."

"Hey, why do I get thanked last?"

"She's scarier than you are."

"Yeah, okay."

"On that subject, did you have much trouble out front, I thought I heard a scuffle just before Ryou arrived."

"Oh, not much really, just some guys that were getting in the way."

"Guys? I thought most of them were girls. Anyway, what happened to them"

"Oh, don't worry they'll recover." That was a bit worrying. "Relax, all it took was a whack on the back of the head." Knowing Tomoyo-san that could still do a lot of damage, but she doesn't tend to use any more force than necessary.

"How did you hear where the wedding was going to be anyway?"

"On the last day of term there was a reporter at the bottom of the hill asking people about if we're going to be there things like that."

"And he let it slip did he."

"I don't know if I'd call it letting it slip, it was more 'the wedding is going to be at such and such, are you going.' So, it's probably mostly his fault so many turned up."

"Mmm, I will be having words with his editor then. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure I thanked the pair of you personally, between the two of you I think you kept it from turning into a circus, so thank you."

"Tomoya, it's time for the speeches."

"Oh, goodie. Okay let's get it over with. I'll talk to you later."

We headed back to the top table to get ready for the speeches, Ryou's Dad was up first so at least I had a moment to gather my thoughts.

"Good afternoon everyone, thank you for coming. It's customary for the father of the bride to lament the loss of his daughter, but in this case, I am very happy to be placing my daughter in Tomoya-san's care. As any good father would be, I was concerned about who my daughter was dating, I had heard of his reputation as a delinquent, but both of my daughters spoke very highly of him, on the few occasions I met him, he was respectful, and thoughtful. But still, I kept a close eye on him. What I saw, was a kind and loving man, who did everything in his power to build up Ryou's self-confidence.

But then Tomoya-san's accident happened, and I had to watch as Ryou refused to ever leave his side, on the day he came out of the coma, as the doctors told him of his injuries, and in what must have been his darkest hour, his highest priority was Ryou, in the days that followed, I saw them grow closer and closer. Then I heard how hard his life up to that point had been, as my daughter beg us to help him. It goes without saying we couldn't turn him away.

In the following months I got to know him better, and let me just say, he makes fantastic coffee. Where was I? oh, right. It wasn't long before Tomoya-san did something that truly amazed me, he forgave the person that caused his accident, not the all too common lip service forgiveness, real forgiveness. That in its self was enough to blow away the last vestiges of doubt about his character, but for him to then ask forgiveness for his anger, toward her while he was still in hospital, well I was utterly lost for words, and anyone who knows me is well aware that doesn't happen often. I was asked a number of times if I was concerned that they were marrying so young, and every time my answer was 'nope, not in the least' anyone who spends any time around them as a couple, says pretty much the same thing. I couldn't wish for a better husband for my daughter.

I should probably shut up now, before people start to starve to death."

"Well then, I guess it's my turn. I'm sure you won't mind if I don't get up," Surprisingly I got a laugh. "Basically, the groom's job when it comes to his speech is, to thank everyone and then shut up so people can get on with eating. So, firstly I'd like to thank Hatsuo-san and Kaori-san for taking me in when I had nowhere to go, but most of all, for allowing me to marry their beautiful daughter. We'd also like to thank Kyou, for making such an amazing wedding cake, and also for being Ryou's maid of honour, there was a time where I didn't think Kyou and I would ever speak again, much less be friends, but I am very glad I was wrong.

We'd like to thank Kotomi-chan and Negisa-chan for being Ryou's bridesmaids and being here as our friends to help us celebrate. I'd also like to thank Furukawa Akio, for being my… you know I'm not quite sure what you'd call him, but thanks, you have been a great help. I'm afraid Akio-san has chosen to give a speech as well, there's nothing I could do to stop him I'm really very sorry. And last but by no means least, another last-minute helper, Sakagami Tomoyo, who was such a huge help managing the crowds at the church. I shall now hand you over to Akio-san."

"His cheeky side notwithstanding, much like all three of the Fujibayashi's, I too am a member of the Okazaki Tomoya appreciation society." Akio-san had to wait a moment for the laughter to die down. "As I said I quite like the kid… hmm, I guess I can't really call him that anymore can I, Tomoya-san has been a friend to Sanae and myself, he'll even put up with my bad jokes and insistence on playing baseball. But more importantly he has been a true friend to Negisa, she can be shy and timid at times, but thanks to Tomoya-san, she now has a group of good friends who care about her, he has always been there to give her a push, or an encouraging word when she needed it. And for that both Sanae and I will be forever grateful. That's everything I wanted to say, so I get to be the hero that announces that the buffet is now open. Although we should probably let these two go first."

Before we headed to get some food, Ryou stopped me.

"You see, I told you they all respected you."

"Yes dear, of course dear." Ryou didn't manage to stop giggling until we got to the buffet. Once everyone had been to the buffet at least once and had time to eat it was time for us to cut the cake. If I'm honest the whole cake cutting thing felt really quite weird, you stand there both trying to hold the same knife that is halfway through the cake, grinning like a fool, while a bunch of people take photos.

Kyou had truly out done herself with the cake, it was five tiers of perfectly smooth fondant icing, with lots of extremely detailed and realistic flowers made of icing that perfectly matched Ryou's bouquet, she wouldn't tell us how long it took her to make it, but it must have been a really long time. The cake inside was soft, fluffy and absolutely delicious.

We spent the next few hours eating, drinking and chatting with our guests, my face was starting to ache with all the grinning. As it got later, the tone of the reception changed and the lights were dimmed as the dance floor filled with party goers, I'd never been a dancer really, but we did our best to approximate a dance, not easy in a wheelchair, our "dance" culminated in Ryou sitting on my lap as I span us through 360 degrees, earning us a round of applause. Even though I had told Ryou I didn't mind if she wanted to go and dance, she stayed with me, she said she wasn't ready to part with her husband just yet. After a few hours of the dance Ryou decided she was ready to go home, and I wasn't about to argue.

When it came to the throwing of the bouquet the single ladies in the crowd were remarkably aggressive. A forest of hands sprang up as the bouquet arced through the air, the hands that caught them belonged to a now bright red Kotomi. I'd been surprised she had got involved in the scrum for the bouquet, she had spent the majority of the reception staying as far away from anything resembling a crowd as she could, she had sat with us for a while but we had maintained a clump of well-wishers for most of the night, so she moved off to sit with the Furukawas. We were showered with yet more confetti as we headed to the limo to go home. The back of the car was festooned with party streamers and a lot of tin cans, and even a few spanners had been tied on to the rear towing hook. The cacophony of clattering and clanking was horrific, so we were both glad when the driver stopped once we were out of sight and removed them, so we could finally hear ourselves think.

Carrying her over the threshold was easier than I'd expect it to be if I wasn't in a wheelchair, but Ryou was lost in fits of giggles as I rolled us in to our home. When Ryou managed to stop giggling and catch her breath, she sighed and kissed me on the cheek.

"Mmm, home at last," There was a gleam in her eye, and she blushed as she stood up. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go and freshen up." Her tone of voice and the smile on her face, made my heart rate spike and my face heated up in seconds.

"Oh, umm yeah, go ahead." Ryou walked through to the bathroom, with an extremely alluring sway to her hips, that she was defiantly doing deliberately. I had to remind myself to blink.

I finally regained enough of my senses to head through to _our_ bedroom, I sat in bed checking my breath for the tenth time, with my heart going a mile a minute. The breath caught in my throat as the door slid open, and Ryou stepped in wearing a form fitting and low cut, violet silk nightgown that stopped just above her knee. In a change her previous confidence, she held her hands in front of her fidgeting with her thumb nail. I could just about manage to say one thing.

"Wow…" Ryou looked down blushing bashfully.

"Thank you… I was trying to be brave, but… I'm a bit nervous."

"Me too, there's no rush you know, if you're not comfortable or not ready yet then…"

"No… I do want to, I'm just nervous."

"I know, so am I, so how about we just snuggle up, and let things happen naturally."

"Okay." Ryou relaxed a little and went around to her side of the bed, she slipped under the covers. She snuggled up to me and rested her head on my chest. As I ran my fingers through her hair she giggled. "It feels a little naughty."

"I'd have to disagree," Ryou looked up at me looking surprised. "It feels a lot naughty." Ryou laughed and buried her face into my shoulder, laughing went a long way to help us relax.

"You've got much bigger muscles than last time we shared a bed." Ryou ran her fingers over my chest.

"You think so, well it's hard work getting up that hill to school, do you like the extra muscle then."

"Definitely."

"You've changed a lot yourself you know."

"Really, I didn't think I'd lost any weight."

"No not your body, your mind, you are far more confident than you used to be, the way you spoke to Tomoyo-san on the first day back at school was proof of that."

"I hadn't thought about it like that, it's all because you keep telling me how beautiful I am and that you love me all the time." Ryou shuffled up a little and kissed me on the lips, she paused for a moment and kissed me again more passionately, we didn't need much more encouragement, to keep going, after a few minutes, Ryou's eyes had regained the gleam they had when we got home.

At this point, Ryou's hair was getting a bit dishevelled, between that and the wolfish smile on her face, it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen, right as I was thinking that, Ryou pushed herself up, above my chest, she looked like she stopped for a moment and bit her lip and then slipped her night gown off over her head, she threw it off to one side blushing furiously, she pulled the covers up over her shoulders, and snuggled up to me again. I was acutely aware of the feeling of her skin against mine, in particular, a soft and bouncy feeling against my chest.

Ryou kissed me one more time, then her hands slid down my stomach where she paused for a moment, she shuffled down the bed for a moment, and then reappeared with a bundle of fabric in her hands and threw it off in the same direction as her own night clothes. She then lifted her leg across and sat across my hips, it was as she sat more up right that I got my first look at her breasts, Kyou had once told me that Ryou was surprisingly busty, she was not wrong, larger than I had thought, they were full and round, the skin was pale and smooth, completely without blemish, I was transfixed by her small, perky, pink nipples.

When Ryou noticed where I was looking, she blushed and instinctively started to cover herself up, but she stopped and returned to her previous posture, giving me a fantastic view.

"Do, do you like them?"

"They're awesome." Ryou blushed a little more. "C-can I touch them?" Ryou, still blushing gave a small, nervous nod. I reach out and gently caressed her skin, sliding my fingers up her sides, then inward until I cupped my hand around her breast, she shivered, and goose bumps rose from her skin and she took a small sharp intake of breath. I gently squeezed, marvelling at the soft, yielding and elastic flesh. Sliding back and forth across her silky soft skin, I brushed my thumb across her rapidly hardening nipple. Ryou whimpered quietly and shuddered at my touch, with her groin pressed down against mine, Ryou began to squirm and roll her hips back and forth with a remarkably hot sensation against my crotch. Taking her nipple between my finger and thumb, I gently squeezed, surprised at how stiff they had become so quickly. Ryou gasped and arched her back, this had the effect of thrusting her chest toward my face.

Never one to let a good opportunity go to waste, I leaned in and kissed, and licked her nipple, Ryou shuddered like she had been electrified.

"S-sorry, did that hurt?" Ryou shook her head, her breathing was rapid and shallow.

"No, please… don't stop." Her voice was breathy and pleading, she leaned forward, giving me easier access, her hips still squirming against mine. I didn't need to be asked twice, so with my left hand fondling her other breast, I sucked the nipple into my mouth and flicked it with my tongue, Ryou's hips increased their pace, and she let out a soft moan, and tilted her head back with her eyes closed.

I could feel her heart pounding as I continued to play with her breasts, after a short while Ryou shifted her position, putting her breast out of reach of my mouth, she leaned in and kissed me, her tongue hungrily searching for mine. Pulling out of the kiss she gazed at me with fire in her eyes.

"I can't wait any longer." Ryou raised her hips away from mine and reached down between us, taking hold of my shaft, she placed the tip against her opening and pressed her hips downward. The sensation was out of this world, as I was enveloped in her hot, slippery vagina.

Ryou winced as I felt a sudden resistance to my progress.

"It's okay, there's no rush. Just take your time." Ryou shook her head and increased the pressure.

"I know, but I really want to feel you inside me." Biting her lip Ryou pushed down harder still, until all of a suddenly the resistance gave way, and I slipped the rest of the way in. Ryou gave a slight yelp and buried her head into my shoulder. Wrapping my arms around her I hugged her and gently stroked her back.

"Are you okay?" She nodded into my shoulder. Her breathing slowed and she sat up a little more.

"I'm okay now, I just didn't expect it to hurt quite so much. Mom said it would hurt a bit the first time, but I didn't think it would be like that."

"It's okay if you want to stop here for tonight." Reaching up to her face, I wiped away a tear and gently caressed her cheek.

"Thank you, but no, I've been looking forward to this for months." Ryou blushed at her own admission but smiled.

"So, have I, but take your time, I don't want to end up hurting you again." Ryou nodded and shifted position so she was in a more upright position, with her hands on my chest and began to slowly raise her hips, the sensation was mind blowing, only to be surpassed when she lowered herself down again. She kept the pace slow to begin with, but she soon sped up her movements. Soon her breathing began to become raged and uneven, she was making quite gasps and moans and her pace increased even more as her nails dug into my chest.

"Tomoya… I… I think, I'm…"

"Me too…" Ryou's movements became less and less controlled, so I griped on to her hips, to help her. I have to admit I really regretted that I couldn't move my own hips.

We were both gasping for air and Ryou's moans increased in volume, between that and the wet squelching noise we were making, it was incredibly erotic.

"Ryou… I can't hold on any longer." My mind went blank and I instinctively pressed Ryou's hips down on to mine as I reached orgasm and my semen gushed into her womb. Ryou shuddered and convulsed, arching her back she dug her nails even harder into my chest before going limp and collapsing on top of me, she lay there gasping for air, her hips still twitching as I continued to fill her with my cum.

"Wow, that was… awesome." All Ryou managed in response was a grunt. We laid there for a while as we got our breath back, eventually Ryou slid off to the side, where she stayed for a little longer before kissing me on the cheek and sat up.

She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a box of tissues and placed it on my chest.

"I'll be back in a minuet." Without bothering to put any clothes on she got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom, giving me a fantastic view of her butt on her way out. a couple of minutes later, she wandered back into the room, still totally naked. She noticed how intently I was watching her.

"What?"

"Well, it's actually the first time I've seen you totally naked." She blushed and dove back under the covers.

"Sorry, I was a little out of it."

"what are you apologising for? You've got a fantastic figure and we're married, so really don't see a problem, the view as you left was pretty darn awesome too."

"Sorry, but it's still really embarrassing, you're the first person to see me naked since I was ten, and even then, it was my Mom, so it'll take a bit of getting used to. But I'm glad you liked what you saw." Ryou was still bright red but she relaxed and snuggled up to me, laying her head on my chest, she smiled and let out a contented sigh.

"Wouldn't you rather put your nightgown back on then, although I'm not entirely sure where it ended up."

"I'll find it in the morning, right now I'm enjoying the skin contact, so it can stay where it is."

"Well you won't hear me complaining, there is something comforting about the skin to skin contact isn't there?"

"Yeah, it feels really comfortable." Ryou let out a yawn and closed her eyes. "Goodnight Tomoya."

"Goodnight, gorgeous." I kissed her on the forehead, closed my eyes and drifted off into a contented sleep.

I woke up in the morning, to find a pair of deep blue eyes gazing up at me.

"Good morning, gorgeous, have you been awake long?"

"No just five minutes or so, you looked so cute and peaceful I didn't want to wake you."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"I had a very comfy pillow, so yes, I did thank you."

"I'm glad to hear it, would you like some breakfast, or do you want to stay put for a bit longer?"

"Breakfast sounds good, I'm starving."

"Me too, I can't for the life of me think why."

"Must have been all that dancing. Did you see where my nighty went?"

"Over in the far corner I think, I wasn't really paying much attention to the nighty at the time." Ryou shuffled down the bed, try her best to keep hold of the sheets as she did so. "You don't need to be quite so bashful you know."

"I know, but it's still a little embarrassing, I'll get used to it eventually." We put our night cloths on and headed through to get some breakfast.

"What time did Kyou say she was coming to pick up your dress and my suit?"

"she said she's let us have 'a lie in' so she's coming at about ten."

"Did she do the air quotes as well?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Probably not, we've got some croissants and some posh strawberry jam for breakfast."

"Oooh yummy, where did you get those from?"

"Akio-san made them for us, would you like some tea?"

"They do look good don't they, I think I'll have some coffee today."

"Really? I didn't know you drank coffee."

"I've developed a taste for it."

"How would you develop a taste for it if you don't drink it?"

"When do you finish your first cup of coffee?"

"A bit before we leave for school."

"And what happens right before we head to school?"

"Usually I get a good morning kiss… ah, I see your point, okay, two coffees coming up." We had just settled down to eat when there was a quiet knock at the door.

"Who's that… What time is it?"

"Five past ten, I didn't realise it was so late." Ryou put on her robe and opened the door. "Morning Onee-chan."

"Good morning Ryou, Tomoya…" Kyou froze and went bright red.

"What?" Kyou was staring at my chest.

"Maybe you should have put a shirt on." Ryou started to blush as well.

"Huh? Why?" I looked down to see eight crescent shaped marks on my chest. "Ah, I see what you mean. Kyou… you still in there?"

"Huh? R-right, yes… g-good morning." To be fair it was pretty obvious what they were, so I don't really blame her for being a bit flustered. "I'll go and get the dress and suit, shall I?"

"Maybe put a shirt on while you're in the bedroom." By the time I returned, Kyou was talking to Ryou about the party after we left, but she still wouldn't make eye contact with me. Even when she made her excuses and left, she still looked a little shell shocked.

"Her face was priceless."

"That was really embarrassing, when you think about it, you may as well have worn a T-shirt with 'I've had sex with your little sister' printed on the front."

"I know, but I don't think it's all that shocking as a concept is it, we did get married yesterday after all, and she's the one who said she'd let us have 'a lie in' quote marks and all."

"Yes, but the implication is one thing, what she saw was actual proof."

"Maybe you're right, with all that being said, maybe you should trim your nails, it could raise a few eyebrows getting changed for gym class. Just don't go asking Kyou if she's got any nail clippers, she'd probably spontaneously combust."

"You have a point, I'll see if mom has something, was there anything you wanted to do today?"

"Apart from spend some quality time with my wife, not much, Oh, I was going to phone the editor of the local paper, but that's about as far as I got plans wise." We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast, then snuggled up and watched TV for a while, once Ryou decide she wanted to go for a shower, I figured it was the perfect moment to call the paper.

"Could I speak to the editor please?"

"May I ask what it's regarding?"

"Yes, I'd like to make a complaint."

"Very well, could I take your name please?"

"Okazaki Tomoya." There was a brief pause.

"_The_Okazaki Tomoya?"

"I'm not aware of another one, so yes, probably."

"Please hold." Two minutes later an older man answered.

"Okazaki-san, congratulations, what can I do for you."

"I would very much like to know why your reporter chose to turn our nice quiet, private wedding into a circus."

"Excuse me?"

"We went to great pains to keep the location of our wedding private, we'd had quite enough of the attention we were getting at school, however, your reporter saw fit to tell everyone and anyone at the school gate, where it was going to be."

"Did he now? He told me that you had invited him to attend."

"I have never spoken to him, much less invited him to an event we had hoped to keep quiet."

"I am extremely disturbed to hear that; I will of course have words with the reporter in question and there will be an apology in tomorrow's paper."

"Apologies are all well and good, but it does nothing to correct the effect on a once in a lifetime event."

"I do see your point Okazaki-san, would it be acceptable for me to call you back, once I've spoken to our reporter and there are a couple of others I would like to consult with on this situation."

"Okay, would you have any idea what time that would be? I'm sure I don't have to tell you I'd rather be spending some time with my new wife."

"Of course, how does 4pm sound?"

"That should be fine, thank you."

"Thank you for bringing the problem to my attention. I will speak to you later then Okazaki-san." Hearing Ryou come out of the bathroom, I turned to tell her what he had said.

"Well, that went… better… than…" Ryou was wearing a towel, and only a towel. Ryou blushed slightly but smiled as she walked over to me.

"Better than what?"

"Huh?" Perched on the end of the sofa, her cleavage was at exactly my eye level. She placed a finger under my chin and lifted so that I was now looking at her face, smirking as she did.

"You said that something went better than something."

"Right, yes…" I couldn't stop me eyes from wandering south again.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm sure you'll come up with something." Ryou leaned forward, having a magnificent effect on her cleavage. Her face stopped inches away from mine, then I heard the clunk of the brakes on my chair being released. She took hold of both of my hands and towed me toward the bedroom. But with both of her hands now holding mine, her towel did not remain in place for long. "I should have told him five o'clock."

"Would you like to get some lunch?" Ryou looked up at me from her position against my chest.

"Sounds like a good idea, what were you talking about before."

"Hmm?"

"Before I lost my towel."

"I remember the towel part… Oh, right yes, I had just been talking to the editor of the paper."

"What did he say?"

"The reporter told him that we had invited him to report on the wedding."

"What?"

"As far as the editor was concerned, we asked the reporter to come and the location was public knowledge." Ryou was dumbfounded by such a blatant lie. "The editor is going to have 'words' with the reporter and see what he can do about compensation. Then he's going to call back at about four o'clock."

"Quite how he thinks he's going to compensate us for that mess I don't know, if it hadn't been for Tomoyo-san it could have been a disaster."

"Well let's just see what he comes up with."

"Okay, what do we have in for lunch?"

"That depends, do you want to cook or not?"

"Not, I don't really have the energy after yesterday's excitement."

"Microwave or phone then, I've got some beef curry in the fridge if you fancy that."

"When is it left over from?"

"I made it yesterday."

"When did you have time to cook yesterday?"

"I couldn't sleep so I was up from about five in the morning."

"I was too excited to sleep myself; I didn't get too sleep until nearly three o'clock… I think curry is probably better for dinner."

"Spicy miso soup and tofu?"

"That sounds nice. We should probably put some actual clothes on, Mom and Daddy are bound to show up with the wedding presents at some point. And I really don't want a repeat of what happened with Onee-chan, it would be really embarrassing if my parents saw the same thing."

"Spoil sport."

As I watched Ryou getting dressed, a thought occurred to me, a thought I had yesterday as well, Ryou has got a fantastic figure, but the way she dresses a lot of the time really hides it, it's probably a hangover from her less self-confident days, but I wondered if I should mention it.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You were frowning, is there something wrong?" She looked really worried, the reason why suddenly popped into my mind, I was watching her dress, and frowning while I watched.

"Sort of, I had a thought yesterday, and I just had the same thought. You've got a really great figure, but your wedding dress was the first dress I've ever seen you wear that really shows it. I just thought it was a shame."

"Oh." Ryou looking surprised, sat on the corner of the bed. "You really think so?"

"Yes, I do, those nice floaty, summer dresses you wear, they do have a certain appeal, but I still think that they'd look even better if they were a little more closely fitted."

"what do you mean by a certain appeal?" She looked a little suspicious.

"I'm not really sure why, but they've always struck me as looking especially feminine. But then again it could be because it's you wearing them, women's fashion choices have always been a little lost on me until we started dating."

"Oh…" She returned to her startled expression again, but she was a little rosier cheeked now.

"I didn't say something weird, did I?"

"No, no, just… a little surprising."

"Surprising how?"

"I'd just never really thought about it… But Kyou and I share clothes all the time, does that mean you think the same about her?"

"Is there a way I can answer that, without sounding like I've been creeping on your sister?" Ryou gave me a slightly unimpressed look.

"How about honestly?"

"I haven't really noticed. Look, when was the last time you borrowed something of Kyou's?"

"Umm… maybe three weeks ago."

"And what was that?"

"A sweater, that blue fuzzy one."

"And when was the last time you borrowed something like a dress?"

"I don't know, why does that matter?"

"I've seen her borrow dresses off you before, but never the other way around."

"Oh… you could be right actually."

"Okay, when Kyou wears something a little more form fitting, do you think she looks bad in it?"

"No, but why does that matter?" I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right, I see what you mean."

"You having a twin sister makes these conversations way easier." Something dawned on her all of a sudden.

"That's right, you did the same thing just before we started dating, something like if Kyou is popular then I should have the same potential."

"Yes, the beginning of my campaign to boost your self-confidence."

"So, umm what do you think I should do." Ryou's old uncertain way of speaking made a brief return.

"How about we go shopping tomorrow, and we can get you a couple of nice dresses." Ryou face lit up with a bright smile. "Come on, I'm getting hungry."

Just as we sat down with our lunch, there was a knock on the door.

"What is it with people's timing around here?"

"At least you've got all your clothes on this time." Fair point really, especially now there was sixteen red crescent marks on my chest. "Hello Daddy, Mom."

"Hello sweetheart."

"Good afternoon, Tomoya-san. Something smells good, I hope we're not interrupting." I was sorely tempted to crack a joke, but the look Ryou gave me persuaded otherwise.

"No, no, just a bit of a late lunch, I'll put some coffee on, shall I?"

"I was hoping you'd say that." Hatsuo-san smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"Now, now, we wouldn't want to impose, it's their honeymoon after all."

"Don't worry about it, I'd soon tell you if you were imposing. Do you need any help with the presents, I can't carry much in my hands, but I can make a convincing trolley." Ryou gave me whack on the shoulder. "See that? Spousal abuse already." That earned me a second whack.

"Well, you two look quite comfortable at least. Do you have any plans?"

"We've got the editor of the local paper calling us back at four, we've got a bit of shopping to do tomorrow, and we still need to bring the rest of Ryou's stuff over, but beyond that, no not really."

"What did the editor say?"

"According to him the reporter had told him we'd invited him to be there, and that we had made the location of the wedding public knowledge. He said he would have 'words' with the reporter and then speak to some other people about compensating us."

"Wow, you have to wonder if he really thought he would get away with it."

"We thought same thing, but it does make you wonder about the scruples of a person that would happily spoil a couples wedding day just to get a story."

"Speaking of the story, it's in today's issue if you'd like to see it."

"How did they spin it?"

"Just a standard puff piece really, all very nice and romantic sounding, but I doubt it would ever get any awards or gain him any kind of notoriety, it'd be one thing if he'd just turned up himself for the story, but the mass of students makes no sense."

"Well, without the hoards there isn't really a story, it's just a young couple getting married, it means a lot to us but not to anyone else. Throw in a hundred crazed well-wishers and tada! You've got yourself a story."

"Ryou, are you sure this is the same guy that used to be a delinquent, he didn't get switched out while he was in hospital?"

"Daddy." The Icey glare that Ryou gave her Dad gave me chills. Kaori-san gave him a whack on the arm.

"At least I know where Ryou gets it from now."

Once the last of the presents had been brought through, we couldn't see the table anymore, and the pile had spread to the sofa. Ryou and I set to work opening them all, Ryou was making notes of who gave us what so we could send out the thank you letters.

"We did tell everyone to use the online gift list thing, didn't we?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then why do we have three woks? A wok wasn't even on the list to start with."

"They're from… the Furukawas."

"All three woks… are from the same household?"

"Yes… one from Akio-san, one from Sanae-san and one from Negisa-chan."

"This has got to be one of Akio-san's jokes, right?"

"I don't think it is, they're pretty expensive."

"But they're all exactly the same… oh well, we won't need to buy a wok for a few years at least." I really do worry about them at times. "We've been at this for an hour and I still can't see the table."

"That's popularity for you I suppose, I keep trying to tell you that you're actually well respected."

"It's all your fault you know." Ryou gave me look that told me I'd better explain myself. "I was a delinquent that everyone avoided until you came along you know."

"That's true actually…" She looked like it was the first time she'd thought about it. "But I don't think any of that was my doing."

"Who else was it going to be?"

"You. It was you that helped Negisa-chan, and Kotomi-chan and you helped Misae-san when her cat was sick. And you helped Tomoyo-san when the judo captain was being really pushy."

"So somewhere along the way I ended up respectable, and you don't think you had anything to do with it?"

"I don't think I did no."

"So, I spent two years at that school as a delinquent and just happened to turn respectable after I started dating you?"

"Well… but… umm, joint effort?"

"Yeah, let's just go with that." As we worked our way through the pile of gifts, the phone rang. "Is it four o'clock already?"

"Hello."

"Okazaki-san?"

"I'll just get, oh yes, sorry I haven't quite got used to the new name yet."

"That's quite alright, I spoke with your husband this morning, is he available."

"He's right here, would it be okay if I put you on the speaker phone?"

"By all means, it does concern both of you after all."

"Good afternoon, can I assume you have spoken with your reporter by now?"

"Yes, he is writing the apology as we speak, it will be run on the cover of tomorrows paper. It will also be his last piece for this paper."

"It's your decision obviously, but I didn't intend to put him out of work."

"It is clear that he lacks the integrity I require of all of our reporters, he was on thin ice already, that's why he was given, and I'll hope you won't take offence but the story was considered to be a fluff piece, strictly page seven."

"Oh, no offence taken, I thought the same myself."

"Good, I have taken the liberty of calling in a couple of favours in regard to compensation, I am well aware that his actions cannot be undone, but I hope that we can help make your life a little easier."

"Okay…" It was a bit cryptic. "What do you mean by make life easier?"

"I have acquired a car for you and your wife."

"A car? You are aware I'm paraplegic?"

"Oh yes, it will be specially adapted to be able to be driven by someone without the use of their legs."

"That's quite the apology, would I be correct in assuming you hope to use this as some sort of publicity for the paper?"

"I understand why you would think that, but you are incorrect in this instance. I have a family member that owns an Audi dealership, and I have worked out a deal with him for a suitable car and the adaptations and we'll cover the insurance for the first year. Assuming that you are happy to accept." Ryou stared at the phone wide eyed.

"I think it would be quite stupid of me to refuse such a generous offer."

"I am pleased that we could come to an agreement, it will take about a week for the adaptations to be completed, I will arrange delivery once it's ready. Thank you for your time."

"Thank you." The phone was hung up, and Ryou and I stared at each other in disbelief. "did that just happen?" Still a little lost for words, we decided to return to the pile of gifts.

"I have to question the thought processes of some people."

"Why what is it?" Ryou peered over the top of the box I had opened.

"Satin bed sheets," Ryou gave me a 'so what' look. "and a baby monitor." Ryou's face instantly turned bright red.

"W-who gave us that?"

"Dunno, there's no label on it."

"Maybe it came off in the bag," Ryou's face was beginning to return to normal, but she was still a bit pink. "I can't see any loose labels."

"Somebody obviously thinks they're funny, could be Akio-san, but it could just as easily be Kyou."

"But Onee-chan made the cake, so we told her not to give us a gift."

"Since when has that ever stopped her? Maybe we can work it out by seeing if any of the guests didn't give us anything." Ryou looked sceptical, but at the moment it was the only way I could see us finding out. After another hour of unpacking we had finally run out of things to open.

"Alright, how did we do with the gift list?"

"Umm… We got everything we put on the list, plus a few things that weren't on the list."

"The extras were probably because the list got filled. It probably explains why we got the woks from the Furukawas, they're not exactly known for forward planning, so they just grabbed something that seemed useful. So, we've got 3 woks, a set of expensive kitchen knives, a set of cookbooks, a gift voucher for a posh homewares shop and the satin sheets, baby monitor combo. That weren't on the list. Did anyone not give us anything?"

"No, everyone gave us something, and there no gifts that looked lower in value than we'd expected off anyone." We'd tried to cater to all budget ranges, not everyone can afford much so we didn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable because they couldn't afford something off the list.

"Drat. Oh well, it'll just have to stay one of life's little mysteries."

"You don't think it's from Kotomi-chan do you? She does have some strange ideas about marriage sometimes."

"No, she gave us the cookbooks, plus if she made the association, she'd think it was totally normal and put her name on it. And after Kyou's reaction this morning, I doubt it's her. Your Dad's adamant he's too young to be a grandfather so he wouldn't do it, and Akio-san would have put his name on it."

"What about Sanae-san?"

"I wouldn't have thought so, what made you think that?"

"She made some suggestions about our wedding night, last week." From the colour Ryou's face went I'm guessing it wasn't about food or taking care of her wedding dress.

"Really?" Ryou nodded, still blushing. "Sanae did?" another nod "Furukawa Sanae gave you advice on our wedding night?"

"Yes."

"I did not see that coming, she always seems so, wholesome and quiet. Did you follow any of her advice then?" Ryou went completely crimson and shook her head rapidly.

"N-no, it would have been far too embarrassing." Now I really want to know what she said.

"What did she say?" Ryou shook her head vehemently refusing to say anything, she also seemed to be attempting to gather all of her blood in her face. "Alright, if it's really that embarrassing, I'll drop it, but you'll have to tell me some day." It really does make you wonder though; I hadn't seen her go that red in months.

We spent the rest of the evening snuggled up in front of the tv binge watching one of Ryou's favourite anime shows. The following morning was nice and relaxed, a welcome change from the tension of the preceding week. We had lunch with the in-laws, Kyou still wouldn't look me in the eye. The apology was on the front of the paper, it was quite a lot of damage control for the paper really, making sure to say it was all the reporters doing, he did appeal to the readers to give us some privacy, but I don't hold out much hope for that really.

After lunch we headed off on our shopping trip. If I'm honest, it was all a little bit creepy, nobody actually approached us, but there was a large number of people that just grinned at us as we passed. It had a similar feeling to a 1950's horror film, like everybody else had been replaced by robots or aliens in disguise. Almost everyone we actually interacted with, mentioned seeing us in the paper. We did get one shop assistant that was a little odd in her approach to us.

"Oh, didn't I see your picture in the paper?" How would I know what you saw in the paper?

"It's possible."

"I remember now, you got married the other day didn't you, it's not really the sort of thing usually bother to read," Why mention it then? "The pictures were quite nice though." Is she complimenting us or the photographer?

"We didn't actually want the press there in the first place, but they decided to come anyway, along with a hundred people we barely know." The shop assistant looked a little surprised at my brusque tone.

"Is that so… well they can be a law unto themselves sometimes, can't they? Let me know if you'd like any help."

An hour of browsing later, we had picked out a few things for Ryou to try on, mostly fairly casual stuff, like she normally wears, just a bit better fitted, and one rather slinky black dress, it wasn't _that_ daring, but it was for all intents and purposes backless, a few minutes of blushing, nail chewing and a lot of "are you sure" later I had got her to go and put it on. Once the rustling behind the changing room curtain stopped, Ryou's head popped out looking quite pink.

"I'm really not sure about this one."

"Come on, let me see." Ryou, blushing a little more, hesitantly stepped out of the changing room. "Woooow… You look amazing, turn around, let me see the back." It wasn't what you'd call revealing, but it was really well fitted, and it did an excellent job of accentuating her curves. I think what made her the most uncertain was the fact that there was no way she was going to get away with wearing a bra, she really didn't need any help in that department but it's understandable that she'd be a little self-conscious.

"Do you really think it looks good on me?"

"Are you kidding me, it fits perfectly. We'll have to go out for dinner so I can show off how amazing my wife looks." Ryou was blushing all the way to her ears, but she was smiling too. "Did you want to try on the other stuff as well or just bring them back if they don't fit?"

"I think Onee-chan wears that size, so it should be okay."

"Alright then, go and get changed and then we can work out where we're going for dinner tonight."

When it came to actually getting her to leave the apartment in her new dress, I had to call in reinforcements. Both Kyou and Kaori-san watched as Ryou rotated on the spot. It was a slightly bizarre concept when you really think about it but there it is.

"Tomoya's right, it looks great on you."

"But I can't wear…" Ryou folded her arms across her chest. "anything underneath…"

"What are you whispering for? There's nobody here that doesn't already know." Kyou didn't see why she was being so bashful, neither could I for that matter. "The neckline is quite high anyway; nobody is going to see anything."

"Ryou sweetheart, do you really think that Kyou or Tomoya-san would ask you to go out in something that was inappropriate or looked bad on you?" Kaori-san to the rescue.

"No, but…"

"Then there can't be a problem can there?"

"Ryou, I wouldn't ever try and embarrass of humiliate you, would I? Kyou might, but Kaori-san and I wouldn't, would we?"

"Hey!"

"So, you just have to try and trust us, I'm not going to force you to wear it, but I'd really like it if you did, you look fabulous." Ryou finally agreed she would go, Kyou had recommended a suitably posh restaurant, and now Ryou was on board with it, we were off on our 'first date night' as a married couple.

Ryou certainly did turn heads, there were a few of the grinning bystanders around as well but you can't have everything, I guess. When we walked into the restaurant we were greeted by a familiar face.

"Oh, hello Ryou-chan, or should I say Okazaki-san."

"Harumi-chan, I didn't know you worked here."

"I only work in the holidays; I don't want my studies to suffer. Did you have a reservation?"

"Yes, we booked this afternoon."

"Okazaki, party of two, here we are, the manager has put you in the back corner, he must have recognised your name, you should have some privacy at least. Follow me," We began threading our way through the restaurant, easier said than done, but the privacy is worth the hassle. "Where did you get that dress? it looks wonderful, very classy."

"Tomoya picked it out for me." Ryou was blushing a little, but she looked quite pleased with the compliment.

"Oh really? You have excellent taste Okazaki-san."

"Thank you, but to be fair it isn't hard to find something that looks good on Ryou." We arrived at the table to find that a chair had already been removed so I could get my wheelchair in. It may not sound like much, but waiters fussing around moving furniture around always draws more unwanted attention.

"Your waiter will be with you shortly, enjoy your meal." Harumi-chan handed us the menus and returned to the front desk. We had a mercifully quiet meal with only two tables spotting us and pointing. Ryou was still turning heads on the way out, I was really, really glad that she had a nice shiny ring on her finger. Ryou was all smiles as we got home from dinner, Kyou's head popped out of the window as we passed the house.

"So, how'd it go?" Ryou's smile was all the answer I needed but Kyou wanted details, or gossip most likely.

"Come on in, I'll put some coffee on." Kyou met us at the back door of the house.

"Soooo~"

"Can we maybe get through the front door first?"

"Well?"

"Patient as ever Kyou." I continued through to the kitchen. "I think with the way Ryou turned heads; we may end up with some whiplash claims."

"Tomoya, you're exaggerating."

"You didn't see the guys at the taxi rank then? I swear the look of disappointment on one guy's face when he saw the ring on your finger, that will keep me smiling for months."

"See, we told you that you looked great in it didn't we, I may borrow it off you at some point." Ryou gave Kyou a slightly pained expression. "What?"

"Well, it was a present off Tomoya… so." Kyou gave me a look of utter distaste.

"You couldn't let her buy it for herself, could you?"

"No, not when she wasn't really sure she wanted to wear it." Apparently, the twins had an agreement that basically said they didn't borrow things that were a gift, so the tanzanite pendant I got Ryou when we were first dating was off limits too, the agreement pre-dated any suggestion of a boyfriend, so it was probably intended to be so that birthday presents and such stayed special to the one that got it, but I think Kyou was wishing that they hadn't come up with it, of course I had been aware of it when I had offered to buy the dress for Ryou. Kyou stayed for a little while to chat, I had decided some time ago, back when Ryou and Kyou first started talking to each other again really, that I would do my best to give them plenty of time to chat, they have always spent so much of their time together, so I didn't want to get in between them. But in this instance, I had a new wife, in an incredibly sexy dress, so it was definitely time to pull rank.

"Alright Kyou, you've finished your coffee, scram, go on shoo."

"Aww, come on, it's not that late."

"I am well aware of the time, thank you Kyou. Off you go."

"But she's my sister…"

"Ryou, is also my wife. Bye now, don't be a stranger."

"You're pulling rank on me?"

"Yup, ta-ta." Ryou giggled as Kyou made a big show of being evicted. "Alone at last, do you need any help with your zip? You do, excellent, let's go." Ryou, was in fits of giggles as I corralled her into the bedroom.

The rest of our first week of our honeymoon was maybe a little quieter, thankfully, Kyou did drop in for coffee almost every day, but she started to text Ryou before coming over, she didn't want to interrupt anything, was her reasoning behind it. Remarkably considerate really. We had Kotomi-chan and Negisa-chan over for dinner as well, Ryou had really got into the idea of throwing dinner parties, she said that it was the sort of thing married couples did, I didn't really have much of a frame of reference personally, but it made her so happy it wasn't something I could deny her. Incidentally we decided not to mention the wok debacle to Negisa-chan, there's nothing to be gained from it and it would just embarrass her, she didn't think that Sanae-san had given us the mystery gift either, but then again she wasn't aware the her parents both gave us the same gift as she did either so I'm not sure how much credence I give her word on that one. On the Monday morning we got call from the editor of the local paper to say that our car was ready to be delivered.

They dropped it off the same day, it wasn't brand new but I hadn't expected it to be anyway, it had some funny sort of leaver thing that worked as both the brake and accelerator, the idea being that I use that with my left hand and hold a rotating knob on the steering wheel with my right. All I need now is a driver's licence. I'd looked into getting lessons after we were told we'd be getting the car; I had found an instructor that could give me lessons, but we needed the car with the adaptations before I could start lessons; so I would be starting lessons on Saturday afternoons. Ryou was really quite excited about the idea of us having a car, unfortunately the nature of the control changes mean that the only way to drive it is with the leaver control thing and Ryou wasn't too keen on using them; she wasn't too keen on learning to drive at all really, Kyou did but Ryou was content to walk or take the bus; and be driven around by me as well obviously.

After the first week was over and done with, it seems that everyone else decided that it had been long enough and they could start dropping around to say hi, it wasn't too intrusive really, and Ryou was pleased of the chance to show off her wedding ring; it was more or less a repeat of how it was when we got engaged really. The car drew quite a lot of attention, understandable true but going in and out to the car got old pretty quick. By the end of week two we had seen all of the guests from the reception and a couple of extras as well; this made the weeks after that much quieter, so we were able to take things at our own pace again, and just get used to living together.

Alas our honeymoon had to end eventually, and it was time to go back to school and deal with the excess attention all over again.


End file.
